$62,000 Bribery at Cantonments Police Station

INSPECTOR FREES DRUG TRAFFICKER

POLICE INSPECTOR Baffoe at the Cantonments District Division of the Ghana Police Service in Accra who wanted to pull a fast one on a suspected drug trafficker to enrich himself overnight is now in the grips of the Police CID 1nstead of allowing the law to take its own course against a suspected drug trafficker after being apprehended the police inspector is reported to have extorted a colossal amount of $62,000 from the suspect before granting him bail.


The Sun gathered that soon after the extortion, the suspect reported Baffoe to his superiors at the Po1ice Headquarters.


Following the complain at the headquarters Inspector Baffoe was subsequently picked by the CID last Friday, January 6 and granted police enquiry bail on Sunday, January 8 When The Sun reached ACP Kwasi Ofori of Police Public Relations directorate, he said he was not aware of the incident and pleaded the paper give him up to Tuesday for his reaction. However, The Sun's sources within the Police Headquarters and the Cantonments Police Station confirmed the story. The paper learnt that during Christmas festivities, Inspector Baffoe with the help of the District Crime Officer arrested a suspected drug trafficker and detained him at the station. The source said after detention of the suspect, Baffoe allegedly demanded $62,000 for his release. The paper learnt that the suspect was released soon after the deal had been sealed. The Sun gathered that the suspect could not dole out the whole amount the police inspector was demanding but managed to make part payment. After collecting the part payment the police officer refused to grant him bail but insisted that the suspect surrender his saloon car with registration number GE3475W as guarantee. The car was to be released after the suspect had fulfilled the payment of the total amount he was charged.


Feeling cheated after his release, the next stop was the police headquarters where a complaint was lodged with the IGP.

Baffoe was subsequently nabbed by his own service police colleagues at the CID headquarters and detained.


He has since been granted bail pending further investigations into the matter. Readers could recall that last year a similar incidence occurred at the same Cantonments police station where suspected drug trafficker mysteriously escaped from police cell.


Police officers at Cantonments were also tight-lipped as none of them would want to speak to the paper as they referred this reporter to the Police headquarters.