Nigerian arrested for posing as police officer
A Nigerian was arrested on the compound of the Accra Regional Police headquarters for allegedly posing as a police officer to extort money from people.
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Prince Tempo alias Don Tempo is said to have introduced himself to his victims as Sergeant Asiedu of the Accra Regional Police Command investigating a case which they (the victims) were involved.
The 40-year-old suspect is said to have approached his victims in plain clothes carrying a pair of handcuffs, claiming to be an investigator. He is said to have asked his victims to pay between GH¢1,500 and GH¢1,000 to enable him to drop charges against them.
Handcuffs
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Deputy Accra Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Timothy Y. Bonga, said Tempo was arrested on the compound of the Accra Regional Police Command while he was collecting money from one of his victims.
He said the victim, a scrap dealer, became suspicious of the demeanour of Tempo when he met him to pay GH¢1,500, which Tempo had demanded.
Mr Bonga said the victim told the police that on October 31, 2015, Tempo came to his shop and claimed he was investigating a case in which the scrap dealer had been mentioned as the one who bought stolen items.
According to Mr Bonga, Tempo demanded GH¢25 from the scrap dealer to pay for the services of the taxi driver he had hired to the shop and GH¢40 for his lunch.
He said Tempo, who showed the scrap dealer a handcuff, said he would put him in if he failed to comply.
Real police arrest fake police
After taking the GH¢65, Tempo is said to have asked the scrap dealer to report at the Accra Regional Police Command on November 2, 2015 to make the payment.
“On November 2, 2015 when the scrap dealer arrived at the Accra Regional Police headquarters, he called Tempo on phone but he was told to wait at the entrance. He was told not to enter the Regional Police headquarters,” Mr Bonga said.
After a few minutes, he said Tempo arrived and met the scrap dealer at the entrance . “He left him to wait at the entrance and claimed he was going to log in as having reported for duty in the office. He entered the yard briefly and returned,”he added.
Mr Bonga said Tempo then took the scrap dealer to one of the police vehicles parked on the compound and demanded the money.
“At this point the complainant, who became suspicious of the conduct of Tempo, alerted some police officers who were around, leading to the arrest of the suspect.”
During interrogation, Mr Bonga said Tempo confessed that he was not a policeman “but he only uses the handcuffs to frighten his victims and extort money from them to make a living.”
He later led investigators to a hotel at Kantamanto where he was lodging and the handcuffs were retrieved.
