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Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sulemana Sulley Jnr, the Accra Regional Operations Commander of Alpha Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) of the Ghana Police Service, has cautioned the public against issuing fake identification cards to security officers at checkpoints.

He said such acts would not be countenanced adding that anyone caught with such fake identity cards would be made to face the full rigors of the law.

DSP Sulley Jnr gave the advice in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) during an intensive enforcement operation of the lockdown directive in and around Korle-Bu on Sunday.

The exercise saw many vehicles and passengers refused entry into the business district.
Many passengers were also seen alighting from their taxi to trek to their various destinations.

DSP Sulley Jnr said due to the exemptions made to some essential service providers as a result of the lockdown, many have devised new ways to outwit the security personnel at the various checkpoints, including providing officers with fake identity cards.

This, he said, was not only affecting the effective enforcement of the lockdown directive but also hindering the exercise from achieving its intended purpose of containing the spread of the COVID-19.

“……… a lot of people have devised means to go through the numerous checkpoints that we have. We find people who will produce ID cards of varying professions at the checkpoints and when you interrogate them further you immediately realise that they are not telling the truth.

“We have arrested quiet a number of them and we have cross-checked the ID cards that they are producing and we found out that they are fake,” he said.

He said the security personnel were on high alert to immediately arrest anyone who would issue or attempt to outsmart the security by producing fake identity cards at any of the checkpoints.

Touching on the operations on the enforcement of the lockdown, DSP Sulley Jnr said, he was baffled by the many who continue to disregard the directive and throng the city daily without any urgent need.

He said the operations was therefore to ensure that only people with ‘reasonable’ requests were allowed into the business district in order to avoid overcrowding and curtail the spread of the virus.

“My advice to them is that this COVID-19 is real and they should strictly adhere to the protocols. Where there is no need for you to go out, it is very necessary for you to stay home and stay safe,” he said.

Parts of the country including Greater Accra, Kumasi and Kasoa are currently under three weeks partial lockdown as the country’s COVID-19 cases continue to soar.

Scores of people have so far been arrested and arraigned before the law courts by the police, for flouting various government and health directives, including holding social gatherings such as weddings, funerals and church services, failing to observe social distancing and disregarding the lockdown directive, among others.

Ghana has so far recorded 834 cases of the disease with nine deaths and 99 recoveries.