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Woman arrested for duping passport applicant

The suspect, Taiba Amadu, who claimed to be an official at the Passport Office was arrested at the Passport Office after a confrontation with one Hassan Aman.

 

A thirty-five year old woman has been arrested by the police in Accra for allegedly engaging in passport racketeering.

The suspect, Taiba Amadu, who claimed to be an official at the Passport Office was arrested at the Passport Office after a confrontation with one Hassan Aman.

Amadu was said to have promised to deliver two passports to Aman within four days at a cost of GH¢1,150.

Aman made an advanced payment of GH¢750 but Amadu was able to deliver just one passport, hence the confrontation.

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Suspect’s confession

Following her arrest, the victim confessed to being in the business of taking monies from passport applicants in the last four years.

She claimed she was able to secure passports for applicants with the aid of an official at the Passport Office but failed to provide the name.

Victim

Narrating the incident to Graphic Online, the victim said he needed to acquire the passports for his relatives and was therefore introduced to the suspect that she could help him in the process.

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He said the woman charged him an upfront fee of GH¢750 with an assurance to pay the balance of same if she delivered the passport within four days as they both agreed.

He said though Taiba was able to deliver to him one passport all efforts to get her to deliver the second one kept dragging thus raising suspicion of the woman’s claim that she was an official at the Passport Office.

That suspicion, Aman stated, compelled him to report the matter to a high authority who contacted the Director of Passports which resulted in the arrest of the woman.

Director

In an interview with Graphic Online, the Director of Passports, Mr Alexander Grant Ntrakwa said he had received numerous reports and complains from people claiming to have been duped in their quest to acquire passports.

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He said many of such passport racketeers operated with accomplices within the Passport Office and served notice that the office would launch investigations into the matter and expose such people.

As a way of restoring sanity in the acquisition of passports, Mr Ntrakwa said there were plans to put the passport application forms online for applicants to apply via the internet in order to reduce the pressure at the Passport Office.

That, he pointed out, would curtail the stampede and nib in the bud the numerous ‘goro boys’ who paraded the premises of the office to dupe the unsuspecting public.

Credit: graphic.com.gh

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