Six arrested for selling fake mobile phones
Six persons have been arrested for allegedly selling fake mobile phones stuffed with concrete and other items to unsuspecting persons at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra.
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The police gave the names of the suspects as Yaw Seth, 22; Moses Bentum, 20; Abiri Nsu-Billa, 20; Gilbert Asamoah, 22; Danso George, 21, and Akwesi Osei, 24.
The suspects are said to have displayed genuine mobile phones for sale but anytime a buyer approached them they changed the genuine handset with the fake one after the price had been negotiated.
They are also said to have taken advantage of the hustle and bustle at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and its environs, especially during the rush hours, to snatch mobile phones from some members of the public.
Special operation
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Accra Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police ( ACP) Mr Timothy Yoosa Bonga, said the suspects were arrested in a special operation following intelligence gathered on the increasing cases of people being swindled by phone sellers or having their mobile phones snatched from them.
Following the special operation, he said, the police retrieved more than 150 mobile phones, most of which were fake.
Some of the fake phones retrieved included phone cases which had been stuffed with cakes of soap, tiles, concrete, pieces of wood and other items.
The suspects have carved the cakes of soap, tiles, concrete, wood or whatever item into the shape of mobile phones and placed them in the empty cases of the mobile phones to defraud potential buyers.
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The phones, which include various types of Android phones such as Infinix, Samsung, iPhone, LG, HTC, Techno and Windows, are sold between GHc200 and GH₵1,500, depending on the brand.
Victim
One of the suspects, Akwasi Osei, according to Mr Bonga, was identified by one of his victims who claimed he had been defrauded by Osei under the guise of selling a Samsung S5 phone to him for GH₵1,500.
He said Osei, after negotiating the price of the phone and collecting the money, bolted without handing over the phone to the buyer.
However,Mr Bonga said, luck eluded Osei and he was rounded up during the clamp down on criminals while the victim was shouting for help.
When the suspects were paraded at the Accra Regional Police Command, the news spread like wild fire, attracting traders and passers-by in the area who thronged the place to catch a glimpse of the alleged fraudsters.
Some of the spectators were seen engaged in arguments over the modus operandi of the fake phone dealers, while others shared their experiences.
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