Fake mallam nabbed

The Tamale Metropolis is fast becoming a fertile ground for fraudsters and funny characters who have under the guise of doubling monies for unsuspecting clients have ended up duping them.

This follows yet another arrest of Zakaria Mohammed, 27, a self-styled Mallam and a native of Savelugu for defrauding one Talata Kpelenteme, a Bolgatanga-based trader of her GH¢2,000.

According to the police, the accused person about two years ago attended a funeral at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region and whilst the funeral was in session, he performed some miracles by changing papers to money to the amazement of mourners.

Just after the funeral, accused collected complainant’s number and both kept communicating on phone until somewhere July this year when the accused called the complainant and told her he could double money for her.

The complainant who believed him by virtue of the fact that he turned paper into money in the past readily obliged and raised a sum of GH¢1,300.00 and gave to accused for doubling.

Zakaria Mohammed however took the money and demanded an additional cash of GH¢800.00 to buy a special powder to enable him complete the process but the complainant refused.

The accused then gave a bag containing leaves to complainant and asked her not to open the bag until she gets the said powder or some special perfume to purify the money before complainant could begin spending.

The poor trader took possession of the bag and a week later opened it only to discover that it was stuffed with leaves and other strange objects. Alarmed by the situation, the complainant tried reaching the accused on phone but he refused to answer the calls and later went into hiding.

Complainant sensing danger gave accused phone number to a witness in this case who posed as someone who needed his money to be doubled.

They agreed to meet at a particular location but accused knowing what he had done failed to show up.

He however detailed a taxi driver to pick the witness from the STC yard in Tamale to Savelugu but the witness in turn informed police and the taxi driver was arrested.

The suspect on hearing the arrest of the cabbie went into hiding but police managed to arrest him at his hideout at Sagnerigu a suburb of the metropolis. He admitted the offence in his caution statement and would be arraigned before court on charges of defrauding by false pretences.