The Accra Regional police have apprehended four men for allegedly defrauding a white man of an amount of GHC1.3 million ($325,000) under the pretext of selling him some gold bars.
The suspects are Mark Kojo Conry aka Alhassan Mark Conry, aged 42; Richard Obeng Osei aka Opuni, a 38-year-old consultant; Kofi Amehoun aka Ali Abu, 34, small scale miner and Aikins Ameho, 40, computer technician.
Two others - Emmanuel Kwesi Dotse and Samuel Kofi Grant Kontoh - purported accomplices of the suspects, are at large and are being hunted by the police.
The four, according to police reports, after collecting the said money presented to the victim 13 pieces of some coated metallic bars concealed in a box as the gold and bolted.
They were apprehended when they resurfaced and used a different telephone number to attempt to defraud the victim again.
Briefing the media, the Accra Regional Police Commander, ACP Timothy Yoosa Bonga, said the suspects, in June this year, together with two others (currently at large), were introduced to the victim by one Dawti (based in Dubai) as small scale miners.
Dotse, Grant Kontoh together with Conry, engaged the victim in a series of conversations on phone and further convinced him that they had gold for sale.
The victim who was in Dubai, came to Ghana with intent to purchase fine gold.
ACP Yoosa Bonga said on arrival on June 28, 2016, the victim was met by Dotse and Grant Kontoh at the airport after which they accompanied him to meet Conry at Ataltec Investment Ghana Limited - a registered company dealing in gold at East Legon in Accra to examine the said gold which was being sold.
After the examination was completed, the three suspects took the victim to his hotel room where an amount o£ $325,000 was paid in exchange for the gold which turned out to be plated metals.
The victim later tried reaching the suspects on their mobile phones but they were not answering and so he became suspicious and broke into one of the boxes to check the content.
The coated metals were found in it and with disappointment, the victim travelled back to his country.
Days later, Mark Conry and Kofi Amehoun contacted the victim with a different telephone number and told him that they had some gold to sell.
The complainant contacted the police and feigned interest based on directives.
He came to Ghana again on August 12, 2016 for the deal.
On arrival, he met Conry, Obeng Osei, Amehoun and Aikins Ameho at his hotel.
They negotiated the price of the gold and all agreed to proceed to Ataltec Investment Ghana Limited at East Legon (the same location where the previous examination was done) to conduct another examination on the supposed gold, which was priced ?1.6 million ($400,000).
The four men were arrested and brought to the station for questioning.
Another box which was used in defrauding the complainant and two yellowish metallic substances which Richard Obeng Osei claimed to be genuine gold, were retrieved.
When data on their mobile phones were examined in their presence, police discovered that they contained pictures they had sent to the complainant and other unsuspecting victims, some of whom they had succeeded in duping.
Investigations are still ongoing.
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