Police Boss In Fraud Scandal

A senior Police officer commanding the Striking Force Unit at the Ashanti Regional Police Headquarters in Kumasi is having his reputation dragged in the mud for allegedly defrauding five Ghanaians under the pretext of securing travel documents for them. Deputy Superintendent of Police, Prince Gabriel Waabo is said to have received about GH�11,360 from the five victims on October 15 last year with the promise of assisting them to travel to Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States of America respectively. Expressing worry about the turn of events, the aggrieved victims; Alex Asamoah Badu, Peter Danquah, Daniel Asare, William Owusu Okyere and Samuel Afranie Frimpong unanimously told Daily Guide that the Striking Force Commander took the money but failed to honour his part of the deal. Spokesperson for the group, Akwasi Afranie, a Kumasi-based contractor who introduced the victims including his son, Samuel Afranie Frimpong, to the police capo, said they paid the money as Mr. Waabo had asked. He said the police officer asked each victim to pay $1200 to enable him to secure proper documents for their trips. After receiving the money, the officer was said to have advised the victims to wait patiently for eight weeks while their visas were processed.�Thereafter, DSP Waabo directed them to contact a lady whose name he gave only as Brigit in Accra for their visas�, Mr. Afranie narrated. Mr. Akwasi Afranie said upon reaching Accra the victims phoned Brigit, who did not meet with them in person but directed them to contact Obeis Travel and Tours, at Kwashieman in Accra, to collect their visas and passports. According to them, Brigit again instructed them to pay GH�1,600 each for their tickets. One of them the victims paid the amount while another got his US-based sister to procure one for him. The group�s spokesperson said even though the Travel and Tour outfit issued a receipt in respect of the payment of GH�1,600 for the ticket, the documents have since October last year not been delivered. �The victims are therefore stressed out in Kumasi, not knowing what to do next as all efforts to get the commander to do justice with matter have proven futile�, Mr. Afranie lamented. When contacted, DSP Waabo admitted to receiving the money but explained that the case is being investigated by the national headquarters of the Criminal Investigative Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service. He vehemently denied defrauding the victims, claiming that the person he gave the money to for the visa processing, whose identity he gave only as �Fresh Pounds�, absconded but has since been arrested. He is said to be assisting the police with their investigations. Confirming the story from her base in Koforidua, the Eastern Regional capital, in a telephone interview, Brigit told Daily Guide that DSP Waabo, whom she described as her close relation, would be in a better position to speak on the matter. Brigit would simply did not give a detailed account of the circumstances leading to their failure to send the five men abroad with the explanation that she was busy at work. Earlier, she admitted that she had a team that helped people travel outside the country. They however ran into difficulties some time last year.