Nigerian for court over fake dollar notes

A Nigerian businessman, Mutarla Ali Murphy alleged to have chewed a fake 100 US dollar note in the presence of a Guest House receptionist and a taxi driver has been arrested and would be put before court soon.

A Police Chief Inspector stationed at the Achimota Police Station, Accra, who wants to remain anonymous told the GNA that the accused was arrested by a Police patrol team operating around the Greenwich Guest Lodge at Tantra Hill in Accra. She said Mutarla, who stays in Bukom in Accra, went to look for accommodation at the Greenwich Guest Lodge on October 25.

When the receptionist was taking Mutarla round the rooms he told her he had only dollars on him and, therefore, needed some cedis to pay off the taxi driver, who brought him and also to buy some items he needed to travel with.

The accused gave a 100 US dollar note to the receptionist and collected 600,000 cedis and left for town. The Chief Inspector said the receptionist later detected that the 100 US dollar note was fake.

Mutarla returned later in the evening and presented another fake 100-dollar note to be changed for him but the receptionist confronted him. Mutarla snatched the note from the receptionist chewed and swallowed it. The Police Patrol Team arrested him and took him to Achimota Police Station.

He admitted he gave the fake note to the receptionist but mentioned one Tony, a South African, as the owner of the fake notes. Mutarla could not tell Police where the said Tony resides. He would be put to court on November 13 on charges of defrauding by false pretences.