Police officers in a Ghc120.000 recruitment scam

Barring any last minute intervention from personalities in the Police Administration, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Rhodaline Florence Annor would be interdicted this week to pave the way for a thorough investigation into the embarrassing allegations that she was involved in illegally collecting huge sums of money from unsuspecting victims with the promise of enlisting them into the Ghana Police Service.

A couple of weeks ago, the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau (PIPS), undertook preliminary investigations and recommended that both DSP Rhodaline Florence Annor and Inspector Edward Kwaakye be interdicted pending comprehensive investigations, but that was never carried out. Speculations were rife that some unseen hands in the top echelon of the Police Administration put a stopper on that exercise.

Although one of the suspects, DSP Annor is regarded as a close ally of the Director General of Police in charge of Administration, COP Rose Bio Atinga, it is not likely that she will shield her in order to dispel the notion that she has always been her protector.

One of the most difficult knots to be untied by PIPS would be to ascertain the true identity of one Patricia Panford, who is seen as a conduit in the nefarious operations. There are speculations that Patricia Panford is a ghost name being used by one of the accused.

The Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau (PIPS) formerly Monitoring and Inspection Unit (MIU) of the Ghana Police Service is a unit set up to receive and investigate complaints from the public about the conducts of police personnel. They are also to investigate complaints referred by the IGP on members of the Headquarters Management Advisory Board (HEMAB) on matters bordering on Police corruption, misconduct and other offences criminal or civil. It would be recalled that The New Crusading GUIDE last Friday published that Bernard Adjei, a farmer in the Western Region had petitioned President John Dramani Mahama to conduct investigations into a seeming scam being operated by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Rhodaline Florence Annor and Inspector Edward Kwakye.

Moments after the newspaper hit the newsstands, series of meetings took place at the Police Headquarters which is expected to continue today. The petitioner has been invited to attend the high profile meeting before noon today. Published below is the full petition.

Please stay tuned.

Dear Sir,

RE-PETITION AGAINST THE CONDUCT OF D.S.P RHODALINE FLORENCE ANNOR AND INSPECTOR EDWARD KWAKYE

I am Bernard Adjei a farmer and NDC chairman at Wassa-Saa in the Western region. In the early 2010, I met one inspector Edward Kwakye, a policeman stationed at Obuasi in the Ashanti region where through interactions, the inspector promised to recruit some members of my family into the Police Service.

Obviously, I took that as a very laudable idea, so I disclosed it to my family members numbering 22. The said inspector requested each of them to pay GH¢2,000.00 to him, which they all paid. We waited for almost a year, and a half and there was nothing fruitful coming from him. We visited him several times to enquire what was actually going on, but the said inspector told me that come May, once their monies had been taken, they would be recruited into the service.

According to inspector Kwakye, the cause of the delay was as a result of one DSP Rhodaline Florence Annor at the Police Headquarters, who claimed the number was very small and that they needed more persons so that all of them would be recruited at the same time.

In a related development, inspector Kwakye called the suppose DSP Rhodaline Annor who spoke to me and assured me of recruiting my relatives into the service. Ever since DSP Annor had the opportunity to speak to some others who also expressed interest to join the service and was able to convince them to pay various sums of money where 15 persons paid GH¢ 2,000 each. Five persons also paid GH¢2,500 each.

Fifteen persons also paid GH¢1,000 whiles thirteen persons also paid GH¢1,300.00 each. I wish to say that apart from the 20 persons who paid GH¢2,000 each to inspector Edward Kwakye, the rest of the monies were paid to DSP Rhodaline Florence Annor through money transfer through the Ghana commercial bank respectively. With regard to the Commercial Bank money transfer, there was a receiver by name Patricia Panford, who went for money on behalf of DSP Rhodaline Annor.

But with regards to the ford station transfer, DSP Rhodaline Annor went personally for the money. All effort made to trace Patricia Panford became problematic, so I sought the help of a policeman at Daboya who was by then pending transfer to Accra to assist me to locate the DSP.

My relative Godfred Acquah, therefore, called inspector Edward Kwakye to Accra so that they could meet the said DSP. Luckily, the inspector came, and we met DSP Rhodaline Annor at the registry of births and deaths at ministries. According to my cousin, Godfred Acquah, DSP Annor and inspector Kwakye agreed to recruit the people otherwise refund the money.

Again, my cousin, Acquah met DSP Rhoda at a car park at the police headquarters in an effort to resolve the issue. All efforts made to resolve the issue has proved futile. On several occasions, I myself have spoken to DSP Rhodaline Annor on the phone and have the recorded version of the conversation which happened on several occasions with the last being on the 16/11/2012.

Further on, my cousin, Godfred Acquah again collected all necessary documents and receipts with regard to the transactions that took place and the recorded conservation to be sent to the then inspector General of Police, Mr Paul T. Quaye.

He then referred the case to PIPS for investigations, but nothing has been heard from these two police officers. DSP Rhodaline Annor and inspector Edward Kwakye are comfortably working, and our monies amounting to the tune of one hundred and twenty thousand Ghana cedis, is left in the hand of these two police officers.

I wish to state that times are hard and therefore pleading with the authorities, to expedite actions to retrieve our monies to us.

Yours sincerely,

……………………..

BERNARD ADJEI

INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE

NATIONAL POLICE HEADQUATER

ACCRA

COPIED TO:

THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA

PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA

THE MINISTER OF INTERIOR

NATIONAL SECURITY COORDINATOR

THE BUREAU OF NATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS