An officer of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Owusu Amankwah had been advised by an Accra High Court to take steps to recover money lost in vehicle transaction on a trade website, tonaton.com.
The court at the same time also handed down a six-year jail term to a trader, Edward Kotey alias Niiquaye for defrauding Mr Amankwah.
The Court presided over by Justice Mrs Lydia Osei Marfo today equally issued a bench warrant for the first accused person, Kofi Owusu Hayford, prisoner, who is currently at large to be arrested.
This was as Mr Amankwah who lives at Labadi could not conduct proper checks on a Toyota RAV 4, 2010 model displayed on tonaton.com before paying an amount of GH₵50,000 to the sellers.
Thus, somewhere in November 2015, Mr Amankwah’ uncle, one Fred Fosu, a resident of Obuasi requested that his nephew assisted him to buy a Toyota RAW 4, 2010 model, on sale on called tonaton.com.
Mr Amankwah, hence conducted the convicts on phone and was told that the said vehicle cost GH₵60,000.
The supposed seller agreed to send his one of his errand boys with the car to Capital Court, North Kaneshie for Mr Amankwah to take pictures of the vehicle and send same to his uncle.
The uncle on the other hand agreed to buy vehicle, for which the following day, Mr Amankwah together with a Mechanic, one Obeng, went to inspect the said vehicle at the venue that was proposed by the supposed seller.
To make everything real to the unsuspected buyer, the so-called errand boy called Raymond was at the location.
The complainant’s uncle, truthful to his words, sent an amount of GH$50,000 as part payment for the vehicle on November 6, 2015 to be given to the sellers.
On the same day, one of the convicts asked Mr Amankwah to meet him at the premises of National Investment Bank (NIB) North Kaneshie branch, which he did.
Raymond, the errand boys went there with the complainant in a taxi. Kofi Owusu Hayford, the supposed seller, came out from the NIB banking hall and the complainant handed over money to him.
Kofi Owusu Hayford gave the complainant some documents of the vehicle bearing the name of Edward Kotey as owner.
After payment was made, the complainant and Raymond went to the house of the Kofi Owusu Hayford ostensibly to collect two passport pictures of him.
The taxi cab was parked in front of the house of the Hayford, while Raymond went inside the house but never returned to the taxi.
The complainant after following up with Raymond, realised the errand boy was nowhere to be found in the house, hence he went to the Capital Court but could not find the Toyota RAV4 either.
At Capital Court, he waited for a while but Raymond and the first accused never appeared and as a result, called Hayford and the errand boy several times but their phones were switched off.
He, therefore, made a complaint to the Kaneshie Police Station.
The second accused, Edward Kotey was arrested with the said vehicle Toyota RAv 4, 2010 model on November 14, 2015.
Kofi Owusu Hayford who was involved in another case of fraud and being handled by the Mile 7 Police Station, Achimota was released to the Kaneshie Police station on December 14, 2018.
His release was after the station crime officer was informed of the accused involvement in a similar case that was under investigation at the Kaneshie police station.
Kofi Owusu Hayford admitted in his caution statement that he collected the GH₵50,000 from the complainant.
Meanwhile, the complainant said the first accused person never mentioned his name to the complainant as Kofi Owusu Hayford but he gave the said vehicle’s document bearing the name Edward Kotey as the importer and owner of the vehicle.
By Akutu Dede Adimer