The Border Guard Unit (
acronym
An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...
: BGU) is a
national security
National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...
and
paramilitary
A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934.
Overview
Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
unit of the Customs Excise and Preventive Service Division of the
Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF). Established in October 1964, BGU's primary role is to guard Ghana's international borders during peacetime and prevent trans-border crime.
[The Security Act (Act 202) 1963, Ghana.]
History
In October 1964, the Border Guard Unit was formed as a police unit led by an assistant commissioner of police. The BGU acted as customs agents examining passengers and baggage aboard ships and aircraft.
[The Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (Management) Law 1993, PNDCL 330.]
In 1988 the BGU was re-integrated into the Customs Excise and Preventive Service as a military unit. BGU designs and implements effective strategies and programmes to facilitate the movement of people across Ghana's international borders.
Objectives
The Border Guard Unit (BGU) ensures the security of Ghana's international borders and entry and exit points against
illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...
and cross-border
criminal
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...
s.
Its tasks include:
* Physical
patrolling
Patrolling is a military tactic. Small groups or individual units are deployed from a larger formation to achieve a specific objective and then return. The tactic of patrolling may be applied to ground troops, armored units, naval units, and c ...
of international
border
Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...
s
* Preventing
illegal emigration
Illegal emigration is departure from a country in violation of emigration laws. Countries often seek to regulate who departs a country for diverse reasons, such as stopping criminals from leaving, preventing labor shortages and capital flight, a ...
* Preventing
drug trafficking
A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...
and
human trafficking
Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...
* Preventing cross-border
smuggling
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...
* Preventing
wildlife smuggling
Wildlife smuggling or wildlife trafficking concerns the illegal gathering and trade of endangered species and protected wildlife, including plants and byproducts or products utilizing a species. Research on wildlife smuggling has increased, howeve ...
* Reporting on suspected subversive activities
* Preparedness to act as the first line of defence against external aggressors
Border patrol operations and corporate operations
The BGU's primary operation is detection and apprehension of
illegal aliens and smugglers of aliens at or near the land
border
Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...
s.
Some of the major BGU operational activities include maintaining traffic checkpoints and
security checkpoint
Civilian checkpoints or security checkpoints are distinguishable from border or frontier checkpoints in that they are erected and enforced within contiguous areas under military or paramilitary control. Civilian checkpoints have been employed w ...
s along
highways
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...
(
Ghana Road Network) leading from
border
Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...
areas, conducting snap checks and anti-
smuggling
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...
within Ghana.
These BGU operational activities are performed with the use of
UCAVs,
UAVs,
attack helicopter
An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive (military), offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their ...
s,
armoured fighting vehicle
An armoured fighting vehicle (British English) or armored fighting vehicle (American English) (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by vehicle armour, armour, generally combining operational mobility with Offensive (military), offensive a ...
s, pick-up
vehicle
A vehicle () is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered land vehicle, human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velo ...
s, and all purpose
motorbike
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle steered by a handlebar from a saddle-style seat.
Motorcycle designs var ...
s .
Customs operations
The BGU physically examines containerized goods at
Boankra Inland Port,
Akosombo Port,
Takoradi Harbour
The Takoradi Harbour is a harbour located in the Western region of Ghana. It is located in the industrial district of Sekondi-Takoradi and is the oldest harbour in Ghana. The Takoradi harbour, along with the Tema Harbour, are the only harbours in ...
and
Tema Harbour.
BGU is working to streamline and fully automate customs processes and procedures under the Ghana Customs Management System (GCMS) and the Ghana Community Network (GCNET).
References
External links
Border Security in Ghana: Challenges and Prospects
{{DEFAULTSORT:Border Guard Unit
Ghanaian intelligence agencies
Law enforcement agencies of Ghana