3 Ivorians arrested for dealing in fake currency

The police in Pokuase have arrested three persons suspected to be dealing in fake currency.

The three—David Negou, 52, the leader of the counterfeit syndicate, Yaa Negou-Ngo, 49, and Kouame Koffi Alain, 32—who are all believed to be Ivorians, were nabbed attempting to defraud innocent persons.

The syndicate is devoted primarily to counterfeiting currency.

The arrests were part of an undercover investigation by Today’s Black I investigative squad, in collaboration with the Pokuase Police, into the activities of the counterfeit syndicate who operated mainly at Nkwanta in the northern part of the Volta Region.

The investigation which followed by a tip-off, spanned over a three-week period.

The three suspects were all arrested at different locations. The leader of the syndicate, David Negou, for instance, was lured by the investigation team to meet them at Accra for further business transaction.

This was after David Negou had succeeded in defrauding the team of an amount of twenty-two thousand five hundred Ghana cedis (GHC22,500).

He [David Negou] went into hiding in Kumasi where he continued with his criminal activities with Yaa Negou-Ngo, a woman he said was his Secretary.

Determined to ensure that David Negou was apprehended, as if David Negou sensed that he was being tracked, he sent Yaa Negou-Ngo, his so-called Secretary, to meet the team.

On Saturday, May 20, 2017 at Pokuase-Mayera, Accra, Yaa Negou-Ngo was arrested with fake currency bank-notes size paper when she attempted to swindle our team.

Our third investigation team managed to apprehend Kouame Koffi Alain on Sunday, May 21, 2017 at the Accra Achimota Mall and hand him over to D/CPL Caesar Sabutu of Pokuase Police Division for further interrogations.

Yaa Negou-Ngo upon interrogation disclosed to the Pokuase police the hideout of David Negou.

And armed with this information, the Pokuase Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) John Neurtey, linked up with the Drug Law Enforcement Unit, Kumasi Regional Headquarters, where checks indicated that David Negou was residing at the Freeman Hotel in Asokwa, Kumasi.

A police team led by ASP Neurtey stormed the Freeman Hotel in Asokwa on Tuesday, May 23, 2017 and arrested David Negou.

When his room was searched, the police found loads of fake currency notes as well as a chemical used in washing the notes.

He was immediately brought to Accra by D/CPL Caesar Sabutu of the Pokuase Police Division.

The modus operandi of this syndicate, our investigations uncovered, includes luring an unsuspecting person and assuring him/her of doubling/ tripling whatever amount they bring.

The syndicate was well-versed in fake currency dealings as they had state-of-the-art devices and chemicals to carry out their criminal operations.

Today’s investigative squad established that there are instances that they milk their victims dry by demanding more money from them in anticipation that such money will be doubled or tripled.

One worrying aspect in the course of our investigations however, was that the police was slow in arresting the culprits.

This, our team observed, was due to the lack of a police vehicle at the Pokuase Police Division.

According to the Pokuase Police Commander ASP Nuertey, they believe that the suspects were in league with other suspected criminals and gave an assurance that his outfit was on their heels to arrest them.

He urged Ghanaians to always be on the lookout for people with suspicious movements and conduct and report them accordingly.

Meanwhile, the three suspects are in police custody awaiting trial.