Kwesi Afrifa Michael
Kwesi Afrifa Michael, a 45-year old self-styled official from the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has been grabbed by the James Town Police for allegedly extorting money from individuals under the pretext of wiping off their electricity bills.
The suspect, Kwesi, is currently in police custody. Kwesi, together with two others, Nii Klottey and one Eddy, both at large, collected money ranging from GHC120 to GHC2,400 from their victims.
Police have mounted a search for the runaway suspects, Nii Klottely and Eddy.
Narrating the story to DAILY GUIDE, DSP John Anani, Crime Officer in charge of the James Town Police Station said on April 25, 2013, around 11:00am, the three stormed the factory of the first victim who manufactures iron sheets at James Town and inserted a tester into his meter.
Upon examining the tester for some time, the suspects allegedly told the victim that he owed ECG a huge sum of money adding that his meter would be disconnected if he did not pay the amount he owed.
The victim who was not sure of his indebtedness requested for the identity cards of the suspects.
The suspects provided their identity cards but all were discovered to be fake.
Fearing that the disconnection may cause damage to his equipment, the victim agreed to settle the amount the same day.
The suspects then collected an amount of GHC2,400 from the victim but failed to provide a receipt.
When the victim insisted on his receipt the suspects jumped into a waiting taxi and sped off.
Realizing that the suspects might be fraudsters, the victim raised the alarm which led to the arrest of suspect Kwesi Afrifa Michael but the two others managed to escape arrest.
When suspect Kwesi was later interrogated by the police, he admitted to the offence and confessed that they were only using the name of Electricity Company of Ghana to defraud those they believed owed the company.
Around 3:00pm that evening, a fetish priestess who is also a victim went to the station to lodge a report that the same suspects had defrauded her of an amount of GHC120, using the same modus operandi.
The suspect has since provided the GHC2,400 they collected from the second victim but failed to produce the money they collected from the first one.
DSP Anani said efforts were being made to arrest the two others to face the law.
Meanwhile, he urged individuals who may have fallen victim to the act of the suspects to report to the James Town Police.
By Linda Tenyah