SaharaReporters reports, 494 Nigerians have been handed over to the Ghana Immigration Service for deportation after entering the country illegally.

Thirteen citizens of Burkina Faso who were part of foreign nationals arrested by the Upper East Regional Police Command for illegally entering the country have also been deported home.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), David Fianko-Okyere, spokesperson for the Regional Police Command, said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga.

The police spokesperson said the region had implemented a new strategy which included a 24- hour robust patrol on highways and swoops, especially in the Bolgatanga Township.

He said the operation led to the arrest of 507 foreigners in the Bolgatanga Municipality and its environs who were citizens of Burkina Faso and Nigeria.

According to him, apart from the intelligence of the police service, they also had information from the public about the influx of foreign nationals into their communities.

He said the residents attributed the rising crime in the region to alleged illegal activities of the foreigners and the swoop conducted by the police service.

He said preliminary investigations by the Ghana Police Service indicated that those arrested stayed in the country without proper documents but said the Ghana Immigration Service was in the process of processing all the foreigners before deporting them.

Fianko-Okyere noted that due to the geographical location, the 13 people from Burkina had already been handed over to the appropriate authorities in that country, while the rest who are believed to be Nigerians have been transported to the Immigration headquarters in Accra to be deported.

The PRO noted that apart from those arrested, some Nigerians voluntarily handed themselves over to the police service to be deported back to Nigeria.