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The National Security operation dubbed " Koudanlgou III" has arrested over 170 suspects for illegal infractions along the country's borders.

The suspects were arrested in connection with possession of illegal weapons, including; locally manufactured and foreign single and double barrel guns totalling 108 without any valid documents on them and Illegal foreign miners at 'Dollar Power' near Bole.

Others were the inability to get their weapons authorisation renewed for years.

Other cases recorded as at November 20, 2019, were narcotics, unlawful activities in national forest reserves, fuel smuggling among others.

Suspects were detained for profiling, while exhibits retrieved and preserved for further investigation.
This was in a statement signed on behalf of Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, the Minister of National Security and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra.

The statement announced that security agencies from Ghana and their Togolese counterparts on November 19, 2019 began a joint security operation simultaneously along their borders and selected areas within their national territories.
The exercise is aimed at preventing terrorist activities, illegal resource extraction, drug trafficking, dealing in illicit arms, smuggling, and other transnational crimes.

The National Security led operation is based on previous agreements under 'the Accra Initiative" where Ghana, Togo, Cote d' Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Benin met in Accra in September 2017 to strategise and coordinate the efforts of their security and intelligence agencies to curb transnational crimes including; violent extremism.

Mali and Niger have since been incorporated into the initiative.

The on-going Koudanlgou III is a follow up to similar exercises conducted in 2018.

The intelligence-led operation was currently covering areas along the borders and selected points within the five regions in the northern enclave of Ghana-Northern Region, North East, Savannah, and Upper East and West regions.

The current operation is led by the Ministry of National Security supported by the Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana Police Service, Immigration Service, and Customs Division of Ghana Revenue Authority

The rest are the Narcotics Control Board, Forestry Commission, National Fire Service, National Ambulance Service and other intelligence agencies.

The statement commended the public especially those living in the operational areas for their cooperation and reassured them of the Ministry's readiness and commitment to ensure total peace in Ghana.