The Odorkor Police have arrested a woman suspected to be the leader of a fraud syndicate operating in Accra. Eva Otuka, 53, was arrested at a wedding ceremony at Taifa in Accra after months of surveillance on her.
The suspect is alleged to have defrauded a number of people of various sums of money with four other accomplices, who are currently on the run.
The accomplices are Peter Kwakye, alias Nana Wofa, Dan Addo, Kweku Kotoro and another identified only as Fred, alias Fire.
Briefing The Mirror, the Odorkor District Police Commander, Chief Superintendent of Police Abraham Acquaye, said a miner reported to the police that he had been defrauded by a group of people.
He said the miner travelled from Tarkwa in the Western Region to Accra to buy an excavator for his mining business on March 20, 2015 and saw an excavator displayed for sale at Sakaman near Mallam Junction.
According to Mr Acquaye, the miner went into the yard where the machine was displayed and met suspect Kwakye who told him the owner lived at Dansoman in Accra.
Kwakye then led the miner to a house at Dansoman where the two met Otuka and Addo and bargained for the price of the machine.
The miner finally paid an amount of GH¢50,000 to Otuka, who in turn offered him a receipt which was later detected as fake.
Mr Acquaye said Otuka handed over a key which she claimed was the ignition key to the excavator, to the complainant.
Fake key
On receiving the key, the miner was said to have been accompanied by Addo to the yard to pick up the excavator.
However, on their arrival at the yard, Addo jumped on a waiting motorbike and sped off while the key could not start the excavator.
The victim, sensing he might have been duped, went back to the house where he had met Otuka and Addo only to be told that they did not live there.
Mr Acquaye said the Odorkor Police launched investigations into the matter soon after it was reported and Otuka was eventually arrested at Taifa.
Another victim
According to Mr Acquaye, Otuka mentioned Kotoro, Fred, Addo and Kwakye as her accomplices in her caution statement to the police.
She said the amount was shared among themselves so she received GH¢10,000, which was later retrieved from her room.
While in custody, Mr Acquaye said another victim identified Otuka as a fraudster who defrauded him of an amount of GH¢9,000 under the pretext of supplying him with some soft drinks.
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