A 65-YEAR-OLD MAN WANTED FOR FRAUD (Page 39)

Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Sekondi

The Western Regional Police Command has declared a 65-year-old man wanted for allegedly defrauding a British of £10,000.
The suspect, John K. Arthur, is also believed to have defrauded other Ghanaian nationals of unspecified amounts.
He is alleged to have set up a well-furnished office in Takoradi where he lured his unsuspecting victims to part with various sums of money on the pretext of recruiting young people to help them stowaway.
He is also said to have lured the British, Captain George Fredrick, who is a captain of a Merchant Ship and a Surveyor exploring for crude oil at Saltpond in the Central Region, to part with the money on the pretext of entering into a business partnership.
According to a source at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Western Regional Police, Captain Fredrick met Arthur who claimed to be a businessman and asked that the two of them form a business partnership.
The source said Arthur made several business proposals to Captain Fredrick, including the export of salt to Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso.
Arthur, according to the source, claimed that they could make up to about £1,500 on each trip.
That aside, the police said Arthur also took his victim to his office and later visited some salt ponds which convinced Captain Frederick that the business was a good one.
It said Arthur offered Captain Frederick the position of a director in the company, Link-Up Shipping Agency Ltd.
The police said Arthur had indicated to Captain Fredrick that they would be venturing into cocoa export as well, adding that it was based on this that Captain Fredrick started sending money to Arthur to finance the business after he (Fredrick) had returned to London.
Arthur, the police said, sent reports to Captain Fredrick indicating that the business was doing well and requested for more money to enable him to export more salt to Burkina Faso due to the high demand from that country.
It said Captain Fredrick became convinced by the proposals and secured a loan of £5,276 to support the exports.
According to the police, after transferring the money, Captain Fredrick never heard from Arthur again as efforts to contact him on phone and e-mail proved futile.
It said Captain Fredrick came to Takoradi to look for his business partner but could not locate him at the office and subsequently reported the matter to the police.
The police said a number of people had also reported that Arthur had collected money from them to assist them stowaway.
The police therefore appealed to any member of the public with information on Arthur’s whereabouts to report to the nearest police station.