Four remanded over alleged online scam
According to the prosecution, the four men are facing charges that include conspiracy, preparation to commit crime, attempt to commit crime and trafficking-related offences.
An Accra Circuit Court has refused bail to four men accused of using online fraud proceeds to obtain three vehicles collectively valued at more than GH¢1 million.
The accused, Brorien Onojemete, Kenneth Okiti Ochuko, Prince Odion Obomagha and Frank Bakpa, were brought before Court One but did not enter pleas because investigations are still underway. The case has been adjourned to 8 April 2026.
According to the prosecution, the four men are facing charges that include conspiracy, preparation to commit crime, attempt to commit crime and trafficking-related offences. Three of them — Onojemete, Obomagha and Bakpa — are also accused of laundering money allegedly generated through fraud.
Police say the assets at the centre of the case include an unregistered Toyota C-HR valued at GH¢300,000, a Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 valued at GH¢350,000 and a Honda CRV said to be worth GH¢400,000.
The prosecution told the court that the case grew out of an intelligence-led operation carried out on 18 March 2026 at Emef Estates in Afienya, where officers raided an apartment and arrested 16 suspects.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Issah Achiburi said the operation involved officers from the Tema Regional Police Intelligence Directorate and the Cybercrime Unit at CID Headquarters. He told the court that police found the suspects working on laptops and smartphones at the time of the raid.
Items seized from the premises included 17 laptops, two iPads, 22 smartphones, an internet router and the three vehicles now cited in the charges.
Preliminary investigations, the prosecution said, identified the four accused as the leaders of the group. Police allege they trafficked 12 people into Ghana and exploited them in internet-based scams, including romance fraud schemes.
Investigators also say the accused admitted in their caution statements that they had been involved in cyber fraud and were living in Ghana without residence permits.
The prosecution told the court that the digital devices recovered would be sent to the Digital Forensic Laboratory for examination as part of the ongoing investigation.
Lawyers for the accused asked the court to grant bail, arguing that their clients had known addresses and had already been kept in custody beyond the constitutional 48-hour period. They also contended that the men were unlikely to flee because police had already taken away the devices allegedly used in the operation.
The prosecution opposed that request, saying the accused posed a clear flight risk. ASP Achiburi argued that they had no meaningful ties to Ghana, lived in rented accommodation and could easily disappear, especially given the seriousness of the allegations.
The court agreed to keep them in custody for now, with proceedings expected to resume on 8 April.
