Police Grabbed With Bribe Money

The career of four policemen is on the line after they were caught red-handed collecting bribe money from drivers on the Achimota Overpass towards Abeka Lapaz. A Police source told Daily Guide that as part of the Police Administration�s crusade to redeem the security organization�s image, a team was dispatched to the spot upon a tip-off where the defaulters were extorting money from commercial drivers yesterday. The policemen, all dispatched riders, are from the Police Central Motor Transport and Traffic Unit (MTTU). While an amount of GH�170 was found on L/Cpl. Daniel Yemoh, and GH�89.20 was retrieved from his colleague L/Cpl. George Rockson. Their seniors, Inspector Joseph Karikari and Sgt. Anthony Nyarko, did not carry any amount of money on them at the time of the arrest. During such illegal operations by police, the money collected is kept by the junior ranks for sharing later. Commercial drivers are used to giving such bribes and so when they are flagged down and their vehicle documents demanded, they understand the language and just insert the money in one of the papers, which is removed by the policeman. There is a perception among drivers that no matter what, a police would always find fault with a vehicle and so the best thing to do is just give the money, keep going and save time. One of the cops was said to have bolted when a TV camera focused on him, but was later arrested at the CID block at the police headquarters. The arrested personnel would face police service enquiry and appropriate sanctions applied, Daily Guide was told. The police, especially MTTU personnel, have come under severe criticisms in recent times for especially making a fortune out of commercial drivers in the urban areas. During his interaction with police officers recently, the Inspector General of Police, Paul Quaye, announced the embarkation of a crusade to redeem the image of the organisation. He told the officers �it is a fact that most of our current problems are correlatively linked to our dented image.� The police, he said, is perceived in many quarters as being corrupt, brutal and human rights unfriendly. He expressed his determination alongside others whom he described as having impeccable characters, to reverse the negative image of the police. Recently, some officers of the Panthers Unit were jailed for robbing a Ghanaian of a large among of money in his hotel room. They were given long prison sentences by an Accra court, a story which attracted the attention of many Ghanaians. A survey on corruption perception in the country ranked MTTU personnel in an unenviable rung.