419 Syndicate Busted

Interpol Accra has busted another 419 syndicate and arrested three Nigerians, who lured foreign nationals into the country and duped them of huge sums of foreign currency.

The Police told the Ghana News Agency in Accra that the suspects boasted that they had absolute control over the government and could bring it down.

They proceeded to show their victims huge sums of money and produced documents with official seals purported to have come from high-ranking government officials to win the confidence of their victims before fleecing them.

Chief Superintendent Kwaku Opare-Addo, Head of Interpol of the Criminal Investigations Department, who led a team of investigators to trail and arrest the three suspects on Wednesday, showed GNA several fake documents that the syndicate used to convince their victims.

He named the fraudsters as Clement Oghuwu, 37, who claimed to be a lawyer called Kujuku Mensah from "Kakaraba Chambars", Victor Itive, 34, and Collins Otuwashe, 36 all Nigerians.

Members of the syndicate whom Police described as "forgery experts" had in their possession forged documents purported to have come from the Ministry of

Justice, Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Bank of Ghana and Office of National Security Council which they used to dupe their victims.

Chief Superintendent Opare-Addo said one of their victims, Rajeshkumar Balubhei Patel, 34, an Indian national, who deals in rough diamonds in India,

was lured by the suspects through their syndicate in London and Dublin, Ireland, into the Ghana with the belief that they had some diamonds for sale.

However, the syndicate changed the transactions from buying diamonds to helping him transfer 63 million dollars out of Ghana.

Mr Opare Addo said the Nigerians told him to pay a total of 40,000 dollars in order for them to facilitate the transfer of the 63 million dollars.

He said the victim said he was shown a large sum of dollars by the fraudsters and was made to believe their story that they had 63 million dollars that they wanted to transfer through him.

The Police, however, suspect that they were papers that had been neatly cut to the size of the greenback with a few notes at either side of the bundles.

Chief Superintendent Opare-Addo said Patel parted with 20,000 dollars when he saw the fake dollars and added another 20,000 dollars later as fees for the processing of the documents for him to take the money away.

Chief Superintendent Opare-Addo said the victim was almost held captive in his hotel as members of the syndicate had taken all his money and were then giving him money for food.

The Indian, fearing for his life co-operated with them, till he managed to contact the Indian High Commission.