British Woman Loses £8,000 To Sakawa

A 48-YEAR-OLD British lady, whose quest to marry led her into internet dating, has regrettably lost an amount of £8000 to a teenager, Francis Hamelo, and his accomplice Frank Gomashie, 29.

Narrating the incident to the Daily Guide newspaper, the Director of Vetting and Crime Analysis (VCA) at the CID Headquarters, Superintendent Denis Ako-Dem Abade, said Francis, 18, contacted his victim via the internet and introduced himself as Clive Harrison.

He deceived his victim into believing that he was an American domicile in Ghana, who runs an orphanage in the country. Francis supported his claims with fake pictures picked from the internet, whipping up the sentiments of his victim who madly fell in love with him. Francis then began to request financial assistance from his supposed wife-to-be as and when the need arose. When the lady decided to take the relationship to another level, Francis advised her not to travel to Ghana since he was not yet ready.

However, the lady, who was insistent, arrived in Ghana on July 3, 2010. She was left to her fate at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) as Francis refused to pick her up with the excuse that he had traveled to Texas, USA, his home country.

A Good Samaritan assisted her by lodging her in one of the hotels and advised her against the so called Clive Harrison, since it was likely he was a fraudster; but no amount of words could convince the victim to give up. She stayed in the country for 10 days, after which she left. On her departure, she instructed the Good Samaritan to hand over some kids clothing she had brought for the supposed orphanage to Harrison, on her behalf.

Harrison indicated that he was still not around but would send a representative to pick up the cloths for the said orphanage. The Good Samaritan, who was still suspicious, informed the police about the incident.

When Frank and Francis appeared to claim the said items, they were arrested by the police. The two are now in police custody, assisting investigations. They would be arraigned after investigations are completed, the police said.