The Tema Port Security has in its custody a 21year old Moroccan stowaway, Abdul Hadi, who was hiding on board the vessel MV Lanidie in search of free passage to Europe.
According to the Tema Port Security Manager, Joseph Punamane, the Port Security was contacted by the ship’s crew, to assist in disembarking the stowaway, after finding him on their vessel.
He revealed that, the young Moroccan man, who sneaked into the vessel from Safi Port in Morocco was of the perception that the vessel was Spain-bound, where he intended to travel to for greener pastures.
“He is 21years and joined the vessel at a port from Morocco. So together with the immigration and the police, we had to visit to disembark him and find a way of sending him back to his country,” the Port Security Manager said.
The stowaway, according to the crewmen surrendered himself 10 days after he reached unbearable hunger.
“No matter what food you carry, the weather is not friendly when you are going to Europe, the winter will give you up and you will own up and they will bring you back,” Col Joseph Punamane said.
Lt. Col. Joseph Punamane, revealed that, his outfit is collaborating with the Ghana Police and the Immigration Service to get into contact with the Moroccan government to arrange for his shipment to Morocco.
The Port Security Manager advised the public to refrain from stowaway activities as they are very unsafe and futile.
“It’s a wasted effort to attempt to stowaway, so to my brothers and sisters here they should disabuse their mind of that because they can never succeed stowing away. Because even when you go, they will get you and bring you back, CCTV cameras everywhere so you cannot hide and there are dogs rummaging so it’s difficult,” he warned.
The Immigration Officer in charge of Tema Port, Chief Superintendent Kwame Fosu added his voice for young persons to desist from stowaways.
“When you go and you get even to your final destination, they will bring you back. When they bring you back, because you didn’t use proper procedure, you used illegal means, the law will wait for you and punish you. Sometimes if you are not lucky, the law will jail you even two years so it is not advisable stowing from a country.”
Source: BestNewsGH
