ZONGO POLICE ARREST SUSPECTED FRAUDSTER (PAGE 29)

THE Manhyia Divisional Police Command has arrested a 42-year-old man who succeeded in collecting various sums of money from some ladies in Kumasi after posing as an accounts clerk at the Kejetia branch of the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB).
The suspect, Osei Bonsu, alias Ankrah, was arrested at the weekend after two of his victims had lodged a complaint with the Zongo Police.
Officials of the Kejetia branch of the GCB have denied that the suspect has ever worked there.
After his arrest, Osei Bonsu confessed to the police that he was not a member of staff of the bank but was rather a businessman who dealt in a variety of goods.
According to the police, Osei Bonsu had so far allegedly defrauded two ladies of GH¢1,900, after convincing them that as an accountant with the GCB, he had a lot of contacts and could, therefore, link them to many business partners to enable them to expand their businesses.
The police appealed to anyone who had fallen victim to the tricks of Osei Bonsu to come forward with information to enable them to prepare a docket that would facilitate the prosecution of the suspect.
One of the victims, Ms Abena Agyeiwaa, 28, a business woman and fashion designer, coughed out GH¢550 when the suspect succeeded in convincing her that he had two containers full of rice ready to be offloaded into a store at the Roman Hill in Kumasi and, therefore, he needed the money to pay the GH¢3,000 rent being demanded by the owner of the store.
The police said after collecting the money, Osei Bonsu vanished into thin air and also put off his cell phone, making it impossible for the victim to establish further contact with him.
The suspect used the same trick to defraud another victim, Ms Florence Ayom, a hairdresser at Oforikrom of GH¢1,350, with the assurance of seeking employment avenues for her sibling at one of the courts in Kumasi. But after collecting the money, he failed to do so.
When the victims were prompted that they had been defrauded, they traced the suspect to the Kejetia branch of the GCB, with the hope of accosting him, but none of the people who worked there responded to the name or identity they provided.
Convinced that they had been defrauded, they lodged a complaint with the police and investigations led to Osei Bonsu’s arrest.
A police source told the Daily Graphic that investigations into the case had already started and that when they were completed the suspect would be arraigned.