The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) is calling for stricter checks by landlords as foreign nationals are implicated in 80% of human trafficking cases in Ghana.
Staff Officer Dominic Mensah, Head of EOCO’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, says landlords who rent properties to foreigners without verifying their identities are unknowingly enabling cross-border trafficking syndicates.
He is urging lawmakers to criminalise such negligence, warning that residential properties have become safe havens for trafficking operations.
Mr. Mensah stressed that landlords must be legally obligated to verify documents such as passports, work permits, and residential status before handing over keys to foreign tenants.
“About 80% of human trafficking cases we investigate involve foreign nationals. These individuals often operate from rented properties, which means that if landlords took basic verification steps, many of these crimes could be prevented before they even start,” he explained.
He added that property owners who fail to screen tenants contributed, knowingly or not to the abuse and exploitation of vulnerable individuals, including women and children.
EOCO believes imposing legal consequences on negligent landlords could choke off access to one of the most important resources trafficking syndicates rely on: housing.
Mr. Mensah also advocated for stronger asset seizure frameworks, noting that traffickers are more concerned about losing their wealth than serving prison time. “Asset seizure hits criminals where it hurts, profitability. We must make trafficking a high-risk, low-reward enterprise,” he said.
He called on the government to invest in training and equipping law enforcement agencies to identify and seize trafficking-related assets efficiently.
Mr. Mensah stressed the importance of public awareness, cross-agency collaboration, and continuous officer training as vital tools in the national fight against human trafficking.
Ultimately, he believes that stricter regulation of the property rental space, particularly where foreigners are involved could become a key pillar in disrupting trafficking networks operating in Ghana.
