The
National Security has busted a 13-member gang suspected to be involved in the
printing and distribution of fake currency notes to unsuspecting victims,
mostly foreign nationals.
A statement issued by the National Security Secretariat,
copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the gang, led by one Yassei Alia, a
45-year-old Syrian resident in East Legon and owner of Hardford Auto Service in
Accra, together with Danjuma Zakaria, alias Alhaji Mohammed, 49 and resident of
Tema West, were rounded up in a warehouse within the premises of NacCharter
Cargo and Freight Company, near KLM offices within the Kotoka International
Airport, on Monday, April, 27 at around 1730 hours.
Freshly printed
$10,000 bundles of fake $100 notes concealed in two large metal trunks and a
suitcase were retrieved from the warehouse.
The statement said the amount was estimated to be over five
million United States Dollars (USD).
Other suspected
accomplices arrested during the operation include Esther Omozeea, Emad Aldalhi,
Kamal Mohammed, Abdulai Yakubu Osman, and Samuel Ababio.
The remaining are John Denyo, Desmond Delali Dumenu, Alike
Happiness, Prosper Chukwu, Victor Israel, Padi Christian Holdbrook.
In their caution statements, Yassei and Mohammed, who drove
to the warehouse in the former’s car, denied knowledge of the deal.
It noted that when questioned separately, Yassei, who held a
Syrian passport, a Republic of Guinea-Bissau diplomatic passport, and a
Nigerian national driver’s licence issued in Ogun State, indicated that he had
gone to the warehouse to have a discussion with one Kojo, an alleged cargo
dealer and operator of the premises, regarding a V8 engine the latter was to
import on his behalf.
Alhaji Mohammed stated that he had gone to solicit financial
help from Kojo to enable him procure a vehicle from Holland.
The statement said while Yassei claimed Kojo sat in a meeting
with them on the said day, Alhaji Mohammed indicated that Kojo was not at the
premises at the time of their visit and that while waiting for him, they were
arrested.
It noted that two of the suspects interrogated separately
corroborated Mohammed’s claim that Kojo was not seen at the premises on the
said day.
“The group’s modus operandi, according to intelligence,
suggests that they lure unsuspecting victims with claims that they have access
to millions of US dollars in Libya,” the statement said.
“Victims are given genuine sums of US dollars to spend
for free, as a proof of the genuineness of the deal.”
Once convinced, victims were requested to deposit huge sums
of USD dollars as freight charges to aid the shipment of the said dollars to
the victims.
Upon receipt of the amount, the suspects packaged fake
dollars stashed in between a few hundreds of genuine notes for onward delivery
to their victims.
It said shortly after the arrest, one Bandoh, Alhaji-Ahmed,
alias Alhaji Bamed, owner of Bamed Travel and Tours, who claims to be a
Presidential Staffer at the Castle, and a client of Yassie, drove to the
National Security headquarters, verbally assaulted the leader of the operation,
and vowed to free the suspects.
It said the aggressive conduct of Alhaji Bamed suggested that
he might be involved in the deal, mainly when investigations are ongoing.
It said officials of National Security had assured Ghanaians
that the government was determined to rid the country of fake currency
syndicates and warned that persons involved in the illegality would be arrested
and dealt with accordingly.
