Fake Agro-Chemical dealer remanded in custody for 2 weeks

An Agro- Chemical Dealer at Kumasi-Kejetia has been remanded into police custody for 2 weeks by the Nkawie Circuit Court for allegedly selling a fake A.F Confidence Insecticides.

The accused person, Mr. Kwadwo Atta, a shop owner at Kumasi- Kejetia is supposed to reappear before the court on 29th October 2020.

Prosecuting Police, DSP Sylvanu Dalmeida I/C Legal and Prosecution Unit Nkawie told the Nkawie Circuit Court on Wednesday 14th October 2020 presided by Judge Michael Johnson Abbey that, the accused person had been selling a fake version of New Okaff Industries Limited A.F confidence insecticides to the Public.

This came into light after the witness of the case Issifu Ibrahim, a cocoa farmer from the Western Region revealed to New Okaff Industries Limited he bought their product (A.F Insecticides), 6 gallons at the cost of GHC 900 cash, a Unit price of GHC150, in December 2019 from the accused person’s shop at Kumasi-Kejetia but the product failed to work as he expected.

After the hearing, the report, the complainant, (Production Manager of New Okaff Industries Limited) Mr. Richard Karikari then lodged a complaint at Abuakwa Police station for investigation.

The witness led the Police to the arrest of the accused person where they found 3 cartons of the purported A.F confidence with New Okaff Industries Ltd logo embossed on the product to ostensibly deceive buyers and the public.

Samples of the products from the complainant's company and those that were retrieved from the accused person’s shop were sent to Ghana Standards Authority, Accra for testing, and veracity.

On August 11th, 2020 a report came out from the authority that the products retrieved from the accused person contain 59.7 to 270.4 Bitenthrin a substance that exceeds the Standard’s approved contents of Bitenthrin to be contained in insecticides making the products hazardous for human use.

Further investigations established also that the accused person’s products were not registered by the Food and Drug Authority required by law. The accused person was charged with the respective offenses and put before the Nkawie Circuit court, last Wednesday, 14 October 2020.

The accused person pleaded not guilty of the charges before the court and pleaded with the judge to grant him bail.

However, the court overruled his plea and ordered that he should be remanded at the Kumasi Central Prisons and reappear before the court on 29th October, this year.