A Ghanaian registered ship which was intercepted last week with nearly three hundred would-be migrants from Benin en route Gabon has been escorted out of Gabon’s territorial waters and sent back to Benin.

According to a Defence Ministry’s spokesperson the identification of the passengers have been complete with only 24 passengers with valid documents. The other 135 Beninois, 21 Burkinabes, 22 Malians and 78 Togolese had no papers.

The 34 minor’s were turned to the Red Cross and the UN Children’s Fund, while two pregnant women were allowed to join their husbands in Libreville.

One of the migrants indicated that the ship owners took 400, thousand CFA from the adults and 300, thousand CFA from the children.