Two Imposters Jailed 10 Years

A Tarkwa circuit court has sentenced two men to a total of 10 years imprisonment in hard labour for posing as military officers and extorting an amount GHC1,710.00 from two illegal miners at Esuoso in the Western Region.

The convicts, Isaac Jackson, a civilian employee at the Sekondi Naval Base and Isaac Kojo Biney, an employee of Traffic Tech, a private security firm based in Takoradi, all pleaded guilty.

Prosecuting, Detective Chief Inspector Oscar Amponsah told the court presided over by Mr. Samuel Obeng Diawuo that, on August 8, the Tarkwa divisional police command received information that two young men wearing camouflage military uniform were molesting some illegal miners and extorting money from them at Esuoso.

Inspector Amponsah said the assembly member of the Esuoso electoral area, Mr. Andrews Padmond Ansah and some community members managed to arrest Kojo Biney but his counterpart escaped and the assembly members informed the police for assistance.

He said the police mobilized and proceeded to Esuoso, where they gathered information that Isaac Jackson and his girl friend, one Hilda Cudjoe, had boarded a train and escaped.

According to the Prosecutor, the assemblyman for Esuoso then rang his colleague assembly member at Benso, Mr. Augustine Tetteh and informed him of the incident.

Mr Tettey and the youth in the area managed to arrest Jackson and handed him over to the police.

He said both men admitted the offense in their respective caution statements, with Isaac Jackson explaining that he provided the two military uniforms for the operation.