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Regional News of Wednesday, 15 October 2003

Source: GNA

Two on 70 million cedis bail for visa fraud

Cape Coast, Oct. 15, GNA- Abeiku Davies, a 30-year-old travel agent based in Accra and Evans Abban, 29, a trader at Mankessim, were on Wednesday granted 35 million cedis bail each for allegedly defrauding a man of 34 million cedis under the pretext of acquiring a French visa for him.

Davies and Abban both pleaded not guilty before a Cape Coast Circuit Court to conspiracy and defrauding by false pretences and they will re-appear on October 30.

Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Samuel Oduro-Kwarteng Addae told the court that sometime in May, Abban introduced Davies to the complainant, Mr. Richard Dadzie, as a travelling agent who could assist him to travel to France.

He said Davies told Mr. Dadzie and his mother that if they were able to pay 34 million cedis he could help Mr. Dadzie with documents to enable him to travel to France.

Mr Dadzie, in the presence of his mother, gave the money to Abban who then accompanied him (Dadzie) to Accra to meet Davies.

He said in Accra Davies hired a hotel for Mr. Dadzie and told him that his papers for his trip to France were being processed. After some days the three men travelled to Togo where the two accused persons claimed that the processing of the documents would be finalised for him to board a plane from there to France.

This promise never materialised and Davies again promised to "prepare a valid document" for Mr. Dadzie as soon as they returned to Ghana.

When they got back to Ghana Davies and Abban went into hiding for about three months and Mr Dadzie reported the matter to the police who later arrested the accused persons.