Police in the Ashanti Region have arrested a 62-year-old notorious fraudster, Nana Osei Nyarko Amponsah, alias Captain, for allegedly defrauding unsuspecting members of the public of thousands of Ghana cedis under the pretext of selling cars to them.
Captain is believed to be the kingpin of a deadly syndicate that dupes people through fraudulent sales of cars.
Briefing the press, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, DSP Kofi Boakye, said captain, whose specialty is defrauding members of the public through fraudulent sale of cars, has been in the nefarious business for the past 20 years.
“He has been arrested on several occasions but any time he is arrested, he gets bailed and absconds," Kofi Boakye stated.
According to the regional commander, Yaw Koranteng, Evelyn Prempeh and Kwabena Boakye, who are believed to members of the syndicate, have been declared wanted by the police and the court for jumping bail.
He revealed that Captain and his group defrauded six individuals last month of over GH₵150,000. The latest victim is one Opuku, a pastor, and the manager of a rural bank in the Ashanti Region.
Narrating to the press, the wife of the bank manager, Cecilia Ofori Amafo said Captain called her husband that he had a Pontiac saloon car for sale, to which her husband expressed interest and asked the wife to go and inspect the car and effect payment .
Captain took Cecelia to the Manhyia Hospital under the pretext of collecting the documents of the car from the owner, who he claimed was admitted at the hospital. According to Cecilia, she was taken through a series of processes to collect the documents of the car, and in the process, he managed to take GH₵35,000 from her and run away with the money.
The same modus operandi was used to defraud the pastor and four other victims.
Complaints were lodged against them to the police in Kumasi, and a series of investigations conducted by the police resulted in his arrest.
The Kumasi Police are conducting investigations to unravel the intricate network of the operations of the syndicate.
The regional commander appealed to the victims to assist the police with the information to enable them gather the necessary evidence to ensure that the fraudster is sanctioned appropriately
The regional commander also advised members of the general public who want to purchase cars to deal with accredited car dealers and make sure that they receive valid documents of cars before payment is made.
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