Thirteen women arrested in Tamale during a security operation targeting prostitution and drug-related activities have been made to sweep parts of the central business district as a deterrent, National Security officials in the Northern Region have said.

The women were picked up during a swoop in areas including Jubilee Park and the Bank of Ghana stretch, locations security officials describe as emerging hotspots for commercial sex work.

According to the Northern Regional Security Liaison Officer, RSM Adam Mohammed, the decision to make the suspects clean the market was intended both as a cautionary measure and to support sanitation efforts in the city.

Prostitution, he noted, has been on the rise in Tamale, attracting both Ghanaian and foreign nationals, prompting National Security to intensify efforts to clamp down on the practice alongside drug trafficking.

Speaking to JoyNews' Martina Bugri, RSM Adam Mohammed explained the rationale behind the exercise.

“We carried out a swoop on night workers, and they were highly profiled and handed over to the authorities. Our city or the municipality has been engulfed with so many dirts and trash,” he said.

“So we thought it would be wise to direct them so that they could aid in the clean-up exercise of our cities. For that matter, we gave them brooms and other logistics to help us in the clean-up exercise.”

He added that some of the women welcomed the exercise and expressed remorse.

“I think they were also of the view that it’s a good exercise, and some of them even confessed that they would desist from such activities,” he stated.

RSM Mohammed said the women were later handed over to the appropriate authorities, adding that the operation also led to the arrest of suspected drug peddlers.

“On record, I think they were about 13 of them. Aside from that, we’ve carried out operations on drug peddlers,” he said.

He reaffirmed National Security’s commitment to enforcing the law without favoritism.

“As I said upon assumption of office, anyone found to have broken the law will not be shielded from prosecution. If you find yourself to have broken the law, the law will take you on,” he stressed.

“We have been on top searching for the peddlers, and wherever they are, we are in for them and we shall bring them to book.”

The action, which saw the women sweeping public spaces, has generated mixed reactions among residents, with some supporting the move as a deterrent and others questioning its appropriateness.