THE police in Accra have arrested five Nigerians who defrauded two foreign nationals in separate incidents to the tune of ?120.3 million.
The Nigerians, who are believed to be members of the Advanced Fee Fraud syndicate popularly known as ?419?, were arrested in separate operations in Accra this week.
A Superintendent of Police of the Commercial Crime Unit of the Ghana Police Service, Mr Ken Yeboah, made this known in a press briefing in Accra yesterday.
He said that the first group, which is made up of three members namely, Onudije Ade, 27; Afoke Rugara, 30; and Innocent Nwafor, 28, were arrested for defrauding a Tunisian based in Kuwait of $9,000 and ?5 million.
Giving the facts of the case, Supt. Yeboah stated that the Tunisian was contacted by the suspects in his hotel room in Accra with the claim that they had money in the accounts of a security company and wanted to invest it. The suspects then pleaded with the victim to pay $9,000 to the security company so that the money would be released for investment.
The victim obliged and paid the money but he never saw the group again.
According to Supt. Yeboah, another group showed up some few weeks later using the same method. The victim then reported the incident to the police and he was advised to feign interest.
He said that the suspects were arrested on the day that the victim was expected to pay an additional $8,000.
The other group, with Peter Akpede, a 25-year-old student, and Romeo Kamba as its members, defrauded a British national of ?29 million and a watch valued at ?1,000.
Three other suspects are on the run.
Supt. Yeboah explained that the victim was approached a year ago by the suspects, who claimed they had shipped some goods and needed some money to clear them.
He said that the suspect gave them the money including his watch to make up the cost and later travelled back home.
The victim arrived a year later and approached the suspects for his goods but the suspects demanded more money.
The victim, therefore, became suspicious and reported the case to the police and they were subsequently arrested.
