IGP James Oppong Boanuh
Constable Bernard Nubin of Israel Police Station, which is under the Achimota Mile 7 District Police Command, has been arrested alongside three civilians for their attempt to defraud an American citizen of an amount of US$20,000 in an alleged gold scam.
The others are Kwabena Ofori, Joshua Boateng and one other identified as Kueey.
After defrauding the victim, the suspects were in the process of escaping with the money when the victim with the help of other drivers caused their arrest at a location at Dzorwulu.
Information gathered by DAILY GUIDE indicated that on January 14, 2021, around 12:30pm, the complainant who is an American, met suspect Kueey, who claimed to be a local miner from Akwatia in the Eastern Region at Palace Chinese Restaurant located at Dzorwulu.
The source said in the course of their conversation, the victim told the suspect that he needed gold to buy for some business purposes.
“The victim then expressed interest in buying gold from Kueey whenever he had some available,” the source said.
The source said a few minutes later, a man who claimed to be a friend of Kueey approached them with a kilo of a yellow metallic substance he claimed was gold to show to the victim.
The source continued that the victim who believed the yellowish substance was gold immediately expressed interest and paid an amount of US$20,000 for it.
The victim then took pictures of the said gold and forwarded same to a friend who alerted him that the said yellowish metallic substance looked fake.
The source said the suspects on seeing that the complainant had detected that the substance was fake, rushed to a waiting Toyota Corolla saloon car with registration number GW 3441 – 15 parked in front of the restaurant and sped off with the $20,000.
“The complainant shouted for help and a driver in charge of a Pontiac Vibe saloon chased and arrested the suspects including the police officer,” the source said.
The source said when the vehicle was searched, a small bag containing two suspected fake gold bars were retrieved from the car.
They were then taken to the regional command to assist the police in investigating the matter.
DSP Efia Tenge, the Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer, when contacted, confirmed the arrest of the suspects and added that they had all been detained pending further investigations.
By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey
(lindatenyah@gmail.com)