Nine trafficking victims were rescued from Yeji in the Pru East District of the Bono East Region by the Ghana Police Service and the Department of Social Welfare.
Four adult males and five boys were saved during the combined effort from being exploited on the Volta Lake section in Yeji.
The youngest of the five youngsters came less than a year ago, while two of the four adult victims were reportedly taken to labour on the lake at ages three and five, respectively, 20 years ago.
Following the rescue expedition, Mr. Kojo Owiredu Kissi, Coordinator, Media and Communications, International Justice Mission (IJM), an anti-human trafficking non-profit organisation in Tema, gave an interview to the Ghana News Agency.
He stated that IJM Ghana provided technical and logistical help, but that the rescue effort was owned and directed by government partners from the Ghana Police Service and Department of Social Welfare.
He added that "they must be commended" because "this rescue was successful due to their dedication and collaborative efforts and outstanding work." Mr. Kissi expressed his sincere gratitude to the two institutions for their commitment and unwavering support towards ending human trafficking on the Volta Lake.
Six of the victims, according to Mr. Kissi, have been reintegrated and are now living with their families at home, where they will be helped to resume their education or pursue vocational training, whereas three of them were staying in a shelter home.
He indicated that the young children were hired by the master, who is now a suspect, to work on the Lake in order to fish.
Mr. Kissi said that the suspect was in complete charge of every part of the kids' life, adding that they were not permitted to play or interact with anybody but the suspect's family and would suffer terrible consequences if they did.
"If the children started to build ties with neighbours, they would be relocated to more distant islands to maintain their isolation," he claimed, adding that anybody other than the suspect's family who attempted to communicate with the kids would also face harm.
The only mobility the kids were permitted to make, according to Mr. Kissi, was between the suspect's residence and his boat.