2 national service persons arrested at British High Commission

Two national service personnel who desired to travel to United Kingdom to seek greener pastures but did not have the basic requirement and allegedly forged some documents to qualify them for visas have been hauled before an Accra Circuit Court.

The accused persons, Richmond Asare Koranteng and Loretta Osei allegedly forged letter heads of a company that did not exist and sponsorship letters to outsmart authorities at the U.K Embassy.

However, luck eluded them as the documents were found to have been forged and they were apprehended at the British High Commission by the police.

Richmond was charged with forgery of document, possession of forged document, and uttering forged document and Loretta was also charged with possession of forged and uttering of document. They pleaded not guilty to all the charges including a charge of conspiracy to commit crime.

The court presided over by Justice Patience Mills-Tetteh granted them GH¢10,000 with two sureties each and the case was adjourned to April 16.

Chief Inspector Patrick Hanson informed the court that the accused persons were arrested on December 3, 2012, at the British High Commission.

He said investigation unearthed that the accused persons are National Service personnel stationed in Kumasi who planned to travel to the United Kingdom for reasons best known to them.

According to the prosecutor, as part of the U.K Border Agency requirement, an applicant who did not have sufficient funds needed to get someone with a sound financial background, to support him or her.

The accused persons, who knew they did not have adequate funds to travel, therefore hatched a plan to evade the requirement of the consulate section of the U.K embassy.

Richmond reportedly designed a letter head in the name of an artificial company “Excel Printing Bureau” to prepare a sponsorship letter and further signed the said letter as Michael Asare, whom, he claimed to be his uncle.

However when the police contacted the said Michael Asare, the uncle, he reportedly denied knowledge of the matter.

Richmond, according to the prosecutor, also prepared and signed another sponsorship letter in the name of Charles Osei Owusu Agyemang, an alleged uncle of Loretta, his girlfriend.

However, Charles Osei Owusu Agyemang when contacted also denied knowledge of the letter.

Chief Inspector Hanson indicated that the accused persons admitted the offence during interrogation and stated that they forged those documents to enable them to get the visas.