Obetsebi-Lamptey Blocks "419" Enquiry ?

…”BBC” CORRESPONDENT FINGERED…
ACP KOFI BOAKYE’S NAME LINGERS AROUND

Chronicle Intelligence have confirmed that police investigations into a 419 gang, which defrauded a board member of Ghana Airways with close family links to Vice President Aliu Mahama, has come to a screeching halt, following a credible interference from Mr. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, Minister for Tourism and Modernization of the Capital City.

But Mr. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey in a telephone interview denied jeopardizing police investigations and said that The Chronicle's questioning trigger should rather be pointed at Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kofi Boakye, who was present during the showdown at the French Embassy, when the order for the release of a 419 suspect, who claimed to be working with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was issued by the Minister.

According to the Minister, the Ambassador called him to the French Embassy because he was then the Minister of Information and they needed verification on whether the lady was a genuinely accredited BBC correspondent.

ACP Kofi Boakye agrees that he was at the scene on that fateful day because he was asked to go there by the then Inspector General of Police and but he left the embassy when he realized that it was not his "boys" who were handling the case. He said that was all he knew about the incident.

The police, who were on the trail of the 419 investigations, which began on March 27, 2003, disappeared by 2pm July 2, 2003 soon after the Minister's infamous order. Despite the Minister's denial, the 'Diary of Action Taken', which is a daily record of the investigations, confirmed that Mr. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, ordered the police before the French Ambassador to release one of the suspects because her arrest was a 'mistaken identity'.

"In another development, the then out-going Minister of Information, Mr. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, arrived and took the woman as well as the Ambassador upstairs. No sooner afterwards, (sic) ACP Mr. Kofi Boakye also came to the scene and after explanation leading to the arrest of the suspect, Mr. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey said it was mistaken identity and as such the suspect should be allowed to go. The instructions were carried out and the woman was freed" the Diary of Action taken detailed on April 4, 2003.

But the victim, Mr. Musah Fuseini Cudjoe, who is a board member of Ghana Airways and director of SAITAMA Enterprise Limited, has stated in protest letters to the Minister that "Jake, the woman could be a journalist all right, but the truth is that she is a member of a gang who are in the country defrauding Ghanaians. The CID has several cases of the activities of her group and never had a clue until I assisted them to track down this woman."

The arrest of Anne, the supposed BBC correspondent, followed a complaint filed at the Tema Community 8 police station by one Musah Fuseini Cudjoe on May 9, 2003.

In his statement to the police, Mr. Cudjoe, who described himself as a businessman dealing in general trading and construction, stated that on March 13, this year, he received a phone call from one Osei Boateng who introduced himself as a friend of his cousin in London.

According to Mr. Cudjoe, Mr. Boateng mentioned to him that the company, which he was working for in the UK desperately needed a Chemical called PATCOx4 but their supplier in Ghana, one Mr. Danso, had died and so the business had ceased.

Mr. Cudjoe said, "He (Osei Boateng) introduced Mr. Tetteh on phone number 027541011 as the supplier and one Mr. Oliver Mathias on phone number 00381642180458 as his boss. I called the two people and they both confirmed the information given to me. Mr. Mathias asked me to supply 100 boxes of the chemical at a negotiated price of $910 per packet."

The Ghanair board member said Mr. Tetteh on the other hand, agreed to supply the Chemical at ?3,500,000 per packet and he (Tetteh) asked him to meet him at Seven Heavens at Community 7 Tema to discuss the details.

"He briefed me on how they were dealing with Mr. Danso until he died. He said he could immediately supply 200 boxes. I called Mr. Mathias and informed him that I could supply 200 boxes but he asked for 100 boxes."

Mr. Cudjoe, who is also the Managing Director of SAITAMA Enterprise Limited, added that Mr. Mathias called him on the morning of Wednesday March 26, 2003 to inform him that he was dispatching two people to Ghana to come and inspect and pay him for the chemicals.

The next day, which was March 27, 2003, Mr. Cudjoe said he received a phone call from one Mr. Helmutz and one Anne informing him that they had arrived and wanted to see samples of the chemicals.

"We scheduled a meeting at 9.00am at Hill View Lodge, Dzorwulu, Accra. I called Mr. Tetteh and he delivered the samples to me at Seven Heavens. He sent his boy to me with the samples. I met Anne over breakfast and she approved of the chemicals.

"She called Mr. Helmutz on 024-519355 and informed him that the chemical was the right one. Helmutz asked me to deliver all the 100 packets to him at 1:30pm. He said he was lodging at the German Embassy guest house and would ask Anne to meet me at Hill View Lodge at 1: 30 pm."

Mr. Cudjoe said he called Mr. Tetteh and asked him to deliver the 100 packets to him at 1.00pm and asked him (Cudjoe) to bring along ?350 million before collection but he told Mr. Tetteh he could pay the $25,000 and the balance later in the day.

"We met at Seven Heavens at 1:00pm and I gave him $25,000 and he transferred the goods into my car. I arrived at Hill View Lodge at 1:30pm and had a call from Helmutz on his mobile phone - 024519355 - asking me to come to North Ridge Hotel, which was nearer to the German Embassy Guest House."

Mr. Cudjoe said he waited at North Ridge Hotel from 2.00pm to 6.00pm and no one showed up.

"Meanwhile all telephone communication to them was shut off. It was then that I sensed '419'. When I opened one of the packets, it contained liquid soap," he said.

From that date, the police began investigations until April 4, 2003, when the police were tipped off by Mr. Cudjoe that, he had made contact with one of the fraudsters using a different name and a new Onetouch phone and that he had been told to meet with Anne at Afrikiko.

On April 8, 2003, at exactly 5:00pm, the investigator, Detective Sergeant John Acquah, returned from Accra with a report that the police visited Afrikiko and met a white lady sitting on a table and that when the police asked if she was Anne she replied "Yes and offered a seat."

According to the police diary report, Detective Sergeant Acquah wrote that when four samples of PATCOx4 chemicals were offered her, she said she was not interested but the police including one Inspector Paul Mohamed and an unnamed BNI officer arrested Anne and sent her to the Rapid Response Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department at the Police Headquarters.

DSP Owusu Donkor, according to Detective Sergeant Acquah's report, interrogated Anne extensively during which she said she was a French national working for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

The report further stated that Anne was again put before the Unit Commander, Mr. K.K. Amoah, who after listening to both parties ordered the case be sent to Tema but the police should first ascertain from the French Embassy the claim by the suspect that she was a French citizen.

The police took her to the embassy where she sought asylum and as a result they could not send her to Tema for further investigation.

The Chronicle gathered that Mr. Dennis Decraene, an attach? at the embassy, on behalf of the Ambassador phoned Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey, who was on his way from the Ministry of Information to the new Ministry of Tourism and the Modernization of the capital city.

The police diary report stated that, when Mr. Obetsebi- Lamptey arrived at the French Embassy, he and the Ambassador went upstairs and soon after ACP Boakye also arrived and after explanation about how Anne was arrested, the minister said, "it was mistaken identity (sic) as such the suspect should be allowed to go."

Police said they obeyed Jake's orders and set the woman free.

Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey told The Chronicle that he went to the embassy to confirm that the lady had accreditation as a BBC correspondent and that he did not order her release.

He refused further comment and asked The Chronicle to speak to ACP Boakye.