A combined team of police and tourism authority officials on Tuesday closed down the apartment accommodating the two Canadian nationals who were kidnapped in Ghana a week ago.
The Canadians, charity volunteers aged 19 and 20, were abducted last Tuesday, 4 June, in Kumasi, Ghana’s second-largest city, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) northwest of the capital Accra.
Ghana Tourism Authority says the facility does not meet the standards for rental to the public and failed several security requirements.
“The public is hereby informed that this facility has been closed down for failing to meet the requirement provided under Legislative Instrument LI 2238 and 2239 for Accommodation food beverage and entertainment enterprises,” a notice left on the facility read.
“This is the apartment where the two Canadians who were kidnapped, were residing. They have not registered for the license of the Ghana Tourism Authority so they are operating illegally and that’s why we are here to close down this unit.
“In an apartment of this stature, we expect them to have a security person at post and with CCTV cameras but they don’t; so if you sleep here it’s at your own risk,” Ashanti region manager of the GTA, Peter Theophilus Acheampong, told Accra-based Starr FM.
A week after the abduction the police say they are still on the lookout for the suspects.
“The combined efforts to trace the ladies is still going on,” assistant commissioner of police David Eklu told AFP on Tuesday.
Violent crime towards foreigners is rare, but analysts point to a rising number of kidnappings for cash.
Last year, three Ghanaian women were kidnapped in the southern port of Takoradi.
In April, an Indian man was reportedly abducted, also in Kumasi, by an armed gang demanding a cash ransom. He was swiftly rescued by police.
The Estonian consul was also briefly abducted in April, but released soon after.
Source: Daily Mail GH
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