Private Investigator arrested over fraud

A 38-year-old private investigator has appeared before an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly possessing Ghana Police Service operational wear and two operational black Police Shirts.

Israel Afram Benson is said to have also defrauded a woman of GHS 5,000 under the pretext of assisting her to retrieve her husband’s property documents and a document of C-300 Mercedes Benz but failed.

Charged with unlawful possession of Police accouterment and defrauding by false pretenses, Benson has pleaded not guilty.

The Court presided over by Mrs Evelyn Asamoah has admitted Benson to bail in the sum of GHS150,000 with two sureties to be justified with immovable or movable property worth the bail sum.

Accused person is expected to reappear on December 21, 2022. 

Narrating the facts of the case, Chief Inspector Benson Benneh said the complainant Comfort Diame is unemployed residing at Ayi Kumah, and her husband is domiciled in Israel.

Chief Inspector Benneh said the accused person claimed to be a private investigator residing at Dome Pillar 2, Accra.

The prosecution said somewhere September 2022, the complainant’s husband informed her that his little brother known as Dickson Diame, who he had given his property document for safekeeping, wanted to sell one of his estates and a Mercedes Benz.

It said the complainant was also informed to see one Chief Inspector Akakpo, a witness to the case, to retrieve the document from Dickson Diame.

The prosecution said the complainant met Chief Inspector Akakpo and introduced the accused person then in plain clothes as a Chief inspector at the CID headquarters to help retrieve the documents.

It said that the accused person managed to convince the complainant to give him GHS5,000 to assist the complainant in retrieving documents.

As soon as the accused collected the money, he started playing hide and seek with the complainant. The complainant or Chief Inspector Akakpo could not reach the accused person on his phone.

It said a report was made to the Police Professional Standard Bureau, at the Police headquarters,

The prosecution said while the case was under investigations, the accused person called Chief Inspector Akakpo, explaining that because he was a Staff officer at the Regional Police Commander and due to his schedule, they were unable to meet.

It said Chief Inspector Akakpo became suspicious and filed an official complaint at the Regional CID, Accra.

The prosecution said on December 2, this year, following intelligence, the accused was traced to his hideout at Dome Pillar 2 and he was arrested.

The prosecution said during a search at the accused person’s residence, two sets of Police operational wear, two Police operation black shirts.

During interrogation, the accused person admitted that he was not a Police officer but managed to get the uniform from a tailor called Frank Tetteh at Kumasi Central Police Station.

It said the accused admitted collecting GHS3,000 and not GHS5,000 as the complainant claimed.