Police arrest ‘spiritualist’ for swindling woman
A member of a gang of suspected swindlers operating within the Accra Central Business District has been busted for allegedly posing as a spiritualist to defraud a 27-year-old woman at Tudu, in Accra.
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The 32-year-old man, who told the police he was called Issah Alhassan, and his gang have been on the police wanted list, following a number of complaints from the public.
The members of the gang are said to have been posing as spiritualists who can help deliver people from their spiritual problems.
In the course of diagnosing the spiritual problems and delivering their victims, the gang make them hand over valuables such as money, mobile phones and other personal effects which they eventually steal from them.
Some victims, all women, in their complaints to the police, claimed they were told to close their eyes and hand over their bags while a ritual was being performed but they ended up losing their valuables.
The ritual
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Crime Officer of the Accra Central Police Station, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr. Owusu Sekyere, said Alhassan was arrested after he had allegedly swindled a woman at about 9:30 p.m. on Friday, October 30, 2015 while she was going to board a commercial vehicle at Tudu.
The woman told the police that Alhassan called her when she passed by him near the Kinbu Senior High Technical School and told her that he could see a bad spirit following her. The suspect, therefore, claimed that he could perform a ritual that would drive the spirit away.
He then asked the woman to put two 50 pesewas coins in her palms and spit into her palms.
That, Mr Sekyere said, was followed by Alhassan reciting a few words. He then asked the woman to clean the saliva.
However, because of the saliva in her palms, he said the woman asked Alhassan to help her to do so by taking her handkerchief from her handbag for her. Alhassan did so.
Missing money and phones
After giving her handbag to her, Alhassan told the woman to walk straight to the station and board a vehicle to her destination without looking back.
“The lady walked hurriedly away until someone who claimed to have been observing her encounter with Alhassan prompted her that her money and mobile phones had been removed from the bag. When she looked into her bag, she found that her two mobile phones and GH¢500 were missing,” he said.
Mr Sekyere said the woman returned to the spot where she had met Alhassan but he was nowhere to be found so she made a report to the police.
Subsequently, the woman and her boyfriend decided to look out for Alhassan near the spot where she had been defrauded.
“Then two days later, they found the suspect standing at the same spot and it is believed he was waiting for another victim. The police was then informed and the suspect was arrested.”
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