CEPS officers intercept suspected SIM boxes

Officers of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority have arrested one Theophilus Agbeko with four boxes containing telecommunication gadgets at the Asikuma Customs check-point in the Eastern Region.

He also had in his possession Tigo cards and a laptop.

The gadgets are suspected to be used to intercept foreign calls to make them appear like local calls, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Fred Agyepong Asare, Volta Regional Police Commander, told newsmen in Ho on Monday.

Agbeko, 34, is in custody at the Volta Regional Police Headquarters. ACP Asare said the practice of intercepting foreign calls by syndicates robbed the country of revenue and affected mobile phone companies of foreign revenue.

Mr Emmanuel Lade, Revenue Analyst of Tigo, said 19 cents per call were lost to the company and the government through the illegal operation.

He said government and the company stood to lose six cents and 16 cents respectively for each of those illegal calls.

Mr Lade said such illegal operators were raking in millions of dollars at the expense of government and the telephony companies adding “it’s hurting us a lot”.

He said there were legally registered carriers of such calls outside the country who, though expected to channel those calls directly to the mobile phone companies in Ghana, rather channeled them through the illegal SIM card operators.

Meanwhile the Ho Municipal Police has detained four suspects over seven motor-bikes suspected to have been stolen.

They are Prosper Gadri, 34, Michael Kofi Seke 48, Atsu Gbemu, 25 and Kwabla Afevienyeku, 34.

ACP Asare said Gadri and Seke were arrested by some residents of C.K. Road and brought to the Municipal Police Station on suspicion of stealing a SANYA and DVS unregistered motorbikes.

He said those who arrested the two told the police that they became suspicious when they saw them pushing the motorbikes.

ACP Asare said when the police interrogated the suspects they mentioned one Agbeko Agbesi from whose house two other motor bikes were retrieved.

He said a total of seven motor bikes, suspected to have been stolen, have been retrieved.

He said the police planned to hold periodic meetings on security with residents in the Ho Municipality in addition to the patrols to ensure security.