‘My friend set me up for robbers’ – Security expert shares harrowing experience
After a horrific experience with armed robbers in 2019, Rufai Kasim is now the director at Carlo Van Security, providing advance security for homes and corporate Ghana.
He was not a security service provider until armed robbers took all his belongings.
But according to Kasim, a United States-based tech expert, the robbery was a result of a set-up between a friend and the robbers.
The result of his experience – Carlo Van – could be explained with the popular expression, “necessity is the mother of inventions”.
“I remember I was in Ghana in 2019 to purchase a house for American comedian Michael Blankson, but a friend of mine set me up for armed robbers. Luckily for me, I had paid for the house, so they only made away with my clothes and other stuff… I remember how I stood helpless while they took my valuables,” he recounted.
The robbers managed to take away more than physical possessions but left Kasoim needing psychiatric attention.
“After that horrific experience, I suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which was difficult to deal with. So I decided to do something positive with my situation,” he said.
Out of his pain, Kasim developed a wireless security panel and a door sensor that calls the police and other emergency contacts when an intruder is detected.
“I made a wireless panel because there have been times where the robbers are able to cut through the wires and break in. I also added a motion detector that will trigger an in-built siren to wail,” he disclosed.
“The panel also has a two-way audio slot that can be connected to the [homeowner’s] phone”.
“The camera has a night vision and rechargeable batteries, which means that it can function even when there are lights off,” he told crime prevention and social justice organisation, Crime Check Foundation, in an interview.
With the recent number of armed robbery cases recorded in the country, security experts have recommended installing smart security devices in homes and offices.
As of May 2021, Ghana achieved a crime index of 48.52.
The index measures the level of crime in a given country or city.
This means that, at the said date, crime in Ghana was considered as being on a moderate level.
Compared to 2019, when the level of crime in the country peaked, it decreased by approximately 6.6 per cent.
Furthermore, in 2018, the index was lowest at 45 points.
In recent times, there have been attacks on bullion vans and shootings of police officers.
In reaction to the attacks, the Inspector General of Police, James Oppong-Boanuh, has given financial institutions a June 30 ultimatum to acquire armoured vans.
Watch the full interview below: