Bolga Police arrests notorious mobile money fraudsters
A gang of notorious fraudsters terrorising residents of Bolgatanga and fraudulently retrieving cash from mobile money merchants have been busted by the Bolgatanga Police.
The gang leader, Samuel Adugdoo, aged 24, battled with police officers after deceitfully misdirecting them for about two hours to his house and forcibly loosening the handcuffs from his wrists.
The fraudsters, whose modus-operandi is to register SIM cards using identification cards of unknown persons, especially at MTN merchant operators, engage the merchants with complaints and in the process steal the merchants’ till phone. They later transfer money from the till onto another registered mobile phone for withdrawal.
The Bolgatanga Municipal Police Commander, Superintendent Samuel Punopyin Tibil, told the Ghana News Agency that the suspect was arrested at about 1400hours on Tuesday upon a tip-off from management of MTN in Bolgatanga.
Superintendent Tibil explained that the gang’s latest victim, Joan Azubill lodged a report at the MTN office in Bolgatanga few minutes after the suspect had stolen her till, which contained about GH¢661, noting that within that short space of time the fraudsters had withdrawn the money.
He said this alarmed officials of MTN, who had been battling with the issue of fraudsters in recent times, posing questions about credibility of the communication giant in the country.
He said the swift response from MTN and the police therefore led to the arrest of the suspects, who would be arraigned before court as soon as possible.
Mr Tibil said three of the victims had identified the suspect as the fraudster; and added that Vitus Akolgo, who is believed to be part of the gang was on the run.
The Municipal Police Commander indicated that on February 13, Ruth Aganah, a Mobile Money Merchant, reported that about 2100 hours, the suspect visited her shop to register some SIM Cards and in the process made away with her till phone containing GH¢7000.
He said when the police searched the suspect’s room they found GH¢1,316, cash, five mobile phones, a tablet, quantity of used SIM cards, Identification cards of unknown persons, a bunch of keys, bundles of card boards shaped in the form of cash, which the suspected rapped some few cash notes on to deceive their victims as cash.
Mr Tibil warned the public to be weary of the activities of such criminals who parade as MTN vendors and mobile money merchants only to dupe them.
Source: GNA