Two Alleged Swindlers Before Court

Two persons who allegedly swindled a businessman have been put before the Madina Magistrate Court. Godfred Yeboah and Abena Ampofoa have been charged on four counts of conspiracy to defraud by false pretence, defrauding by false pretence, abetment of crime and giving bribe to influence a police officer. A third accused person, Alhaji Mumuni, is at large. Yeboah and Ampofoa have been remanded into police custody and are to reappear before the court on August 11, 2014. The court, presided over by Mrs Priscilla Mireku-Dapaah, has asked Ampofoa to assist the police to locate the whereabouts of her husband who is alleged to be a captain in the Army. According to the prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mary Esinam Ahafianyo, the complainant is Desmond Addo Baidoo, a businessman who lives in Sunyani, while the accused persons are traders resident in Accra. The prosecutor said Baidoo advertised his business on the Internet for customers to buy his goods. She said at about 8:30 a.m. on July 15, 2014, Baidoo received a phone call from an unknown person who introduced himself as Charles and said he works with an oil company in Accra. ASP Ahafianyo said the alleged caller introduced him to a new business about Drilling Shaft Pin parts and made Baidoo to understand that the parts were highly in demand at the Cape Three Points on the Oil rig. The prosecutor said Charles then directed Baidoo to contact one Mumuni, now at large, to supply him (Baidoo) with the parts. ASP Afianyo said Baidoo was lured to Accra where he met Yeboah and Mumuni at Odorkor with some samples of the drilling shaft. They collected GH�3,500 from Baidoo. She said Yeboah and Mumuni directed Baidoo to meet a whiteman called Brown at East Legon with the samples. The prosecutor said Baidoo later met Brown who collected the parts under the pretext of testing them. The prosecutor said Brown called Baidoo on phone the same day to confirm that the pins were genuine and that he (Brown) would need more of the parts. Therefore Mumuni called Baidoo to contact Yeboah to be supplied with more pins. The prosecutor said on July 17, 2014, Yeboah called Baidoo to meet him and Mumuni in Accra for some quantity of the shafts but Yeboah was the only person who turned up to meet Baidoo, and in the course of their transaction, Yeboah made an attempt to collect GH�20,000 from Baidoo. The prosecutor said Baidoo, who became suspicious of the whole transaction, managed to alert the police and Yeboah was arrested and handed over to the East Legon Police. ASP Ahafinyo said Yeboah, during investigations, admitted the offence in his caution statement. The prosecutor said later, the investigator received a phone call from one gentleman who identified himself as a captain from Gondar Barracks. He said he would send his wife to give him the investigator GH�1,000 for Yeboah to be granted bail and subsequently drop the case. ASP Ahafianyo told the court that expectantly, on July 22, 2014, Ampofoa came to the police and introduced herself as the wife of the alleged captain who had called earlier and offered GH�800 to him. The police became suspicious of Ampofoa and requested her to lead the police to the alleged captain who she claimed to be her husband, but instead she took the Police to Anyaa and Awoshie on a wild goose chase.