Trader remanded for duping police officer

A 41-year-old trader, Jeffrey Owusu, has been remanded under the orders of an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly duping a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) of his Caterpillar D343 Generator Plant valued at $15,000.

The court, presided over by Her Honour Halima El-Alawa Abdul-Basit, has remanded Jeffrey Owusu to police custody until April 26.

This was after Owusu, who was arraigned on Tuesday, April 11, pleaded not guilty to defrauding by false pretences, contrary to section 131(1) of the Criminal Offences Act of 1960, Act 29.

It is reported that a bench warrant has also been issued for the arrest of one Alhaji Dramani Wayo, who is said to be an accomplice in the crime.

The accused, in July 2016, is said to have managed to obtain the consent of the senior high-ranking police officer to part ways with one Caterpillar D343 Generator plant valued at $15, 000.

The prosecution said this was done by means of certain false pretence that if given the caterpillar generator plant, he could sell the same and return the proceeds.

But, ever since, the suspect went into hiding until his arrest in March this year, seven years later.

The brief facts of the case presented to the court by Inspector A Offeibea, who was holding Chief Inspector John Gohoho’s brief, were that the complainant is a senior police officer with the rank of a DCOP stationed at the Police Headquarters, Accra.

Whilst the accused person, Jeffery Owusu, is a trader and lives in Sapeiman, Accra.

The prosecution said, in July 2016, the complainant was offering his Caterpillar D343 Generator plant valued at $15,000.00 for sale. He was introduced to the accused person, who expressed interest in having a client ready to buy the plant.

It added that the complainant released the generator to the accused person to show the same to his client for inspection.

The accused person, the prosecution said, failed to return the same after having collected the generator and went into hiding.

“On 20/02/2017, a case was made to the police and the accused person was arrested,” the prosecution told the court.

“He (accused) admitted the offence in his cautioned statement and pleaded with the police to return the generator or the money to the complainant.”

The prosecution told the court that, though the accused was released on police enquiry bail with the promise of returning the generator or the money, he reneged on the promise and went into hiding again.

It said all efforts made by the police to trace the accused person to his hideout had proven futile.

“A forfeiture bond served on the surety to provide the accused person also fell on deaf ears,” the prosecution noted.

On March 27, 2023, however, a similar case was made against the accused person, and the complainant led the police to arrest the accused person at his hideout.

“During interrogation, accused stated that he sold the said Caterpillar D343 generator plant to one Alhaji Dramani Wayo in Kumasi and led police to Kumasi to the said Alhaji Dramani Wayo,” it stated.

But, the “police met the absence of Alhaji Dramani Wayo, and when the police invited him on the phone, he told the police he would never report to any police”.

The prosecution said the accused person was charged with the offence and put before the court after investigations.