K�si Police Nab 3 Fraudsters

Three suspected Accra-based swindlers have been arrested by the police for allegedly defrauding a trader to the tune of GH�17,500 under the guise of selling a vehicle to him. They are Joseph Osei, Yaw Koranteng and Kwabena Boakye. Two accomplices, David Appiah and Evelyn Prempeh, are on the run and the police are searching for them. The modus operandi of the suspects is to emboss a �for sale� inscription and mobile phone number on the vehicle, and if an interested party calls the number, they negotiate with him/her and accept any offer, and then swindle the individual when they meet. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Kofi Boakye, Ashanti Regional Police Commander told newsmen here that on August 28, 2015, the victim, Gideon Afriyie, saw a Toyota Corolla saloon car with registration number GR 1938-14 with �for sale� inscription on its windscreen. He showed interest in the vehicle, called the phone number on it and spoke to Appiah who gave him another number which happened to be Boakye�s who was said to be the owner of the car. Boakye claimed the car belonged to his wife, Evelyn Prempeh, and that it was being sold for GH�20, 500 but the victim offered GH�17,500 which was accepted. On the said date, the police said the victim called Boakye and informed him that the money was ready and they agreed to meet at Bomso, in Kumasi for payment to be effected. When they met, Evelyn Prempeh was called but before her arrival, Boakye had left with the excuse of seeing somebody at the KNUST Hospital. The police said Evelyn arrived with Appiah and the money was given to her and she in turn gave the victim an ignition key. Evelyn, according to the police left the scene leaving behind Appiah. The victim then asked for the spare key but Appiah told him to wait for him to collect it from Boakye for him. The Police said after Appiah had left, the victim and his friend decided to go to where the car was parked but when they got there it was nowhere to be found and several calls to Boakye proved futile, compelling the victim to report the case to the police. On September 2, 2015, the victim spotted a Honda Civic car with registration number GR 8821-14 and with �for sale� inscription on its windscreen. DCOP Boakye said the victim out of suspicion called a friend to feign interest and called the phone number which was received by Koranteng who asked him to meet him at Aboabo. He said when he got there Boakye pulled up sitting behind the steering wheel. This friend secretly took pictures of Boakye and showed them to the victim and that led to the arrest of Boakye and the subsequent arrest of Osei and Koranteng while Evelyn and Appiah managed to run away. DCOP Boakye urged the general public to be very careful when buying such vehicles.