A Tema Circuit court has remanded into police custody, Benedicta Gyamera, a suspected con-woman who allegedly duped several mobile phone dealers in and around Tema.

The news of her arrest drew a crowd of mobile phone shop owners who besieged the court to catch a glimpse of her.

Madam Gyamera, who was identified in the court by the presiding judge, Justice Nicholas Abodakpi as “Elizabeth Mensah” was said to be cunning and had the penchant for duping mobile phone traders.

She went into hiding after duping a shop, B&J Phones at Community18 but her luck ran out and she was busted at her hide-out in Ho, the Volta regional capital.

She was later brought to Community 18 police station where she was re-arrested on September 7 and placed in custody until she was arraigned before court.

Remanding the accused person, the presiding judge asked the woman if she had ever appeared before him at Techiman Court, then a District Tribunal.

“You look very familiar, like a woman called Elizabeth Mensah who appeared before my Court at Techiman on a similar case leveled against her at Techiman”, the judge said, but the woman did not utter a word.

Judge Abodakpi further disclosed that somewhere in 1998, Elizabeth Mensah was brought before him for allegedly stealing some items including expensive jewellery from a shop at Techiman called Kasapa, but she was later released by a regional tribunal at Sunyani without trial.

Presenting the facts of the case, Inspector Evelyn Susuawu told the court that Madam Gyamera on September 5 came to B & J Mobile shop at community 16 and 18 main road at about 3 pm under the pretext of buying mobile phones for her workers for the good services they had rendered to her.

According to the prosecution, the accused person, who identified herself as a hairdresser selected 17 assorted mobile phones, valued at ¢37,830,000 (GH¢3,783).

After that, as revealed by Insp. Susuawu, Madam Gyamera then requested the sales girl, Patricia Toweh to write down all the models and serial numbers of the phones after which Patricia packed all the mobile phones into an empty 3310 Nokia container, whilst accessories of the phones were also packed in another box.

The prosecution further told the court that the accused person later went outside the shop and asked a certain young man to get her a polythene bag in which to carry the phones.

It was disclosed that Madam Gyamera then asked the sales girl if she could direct her to a place of convenience, after which the sales girl led her to the back of the shop with the suspect carrying the polythene bag with the phones.

After urinating, Prosecutor Susuawu told the court that Madam Gyamera then requested for water from the landlord of the house where the mobile phone shop is located to wash her hands and the landlord instructed his son to get her some.

It was disclosed that after washing her hands, the suspect then engaged the landlord in conversation and later told the sales girl to take the lead to the shop and that she would be following soon.

The prosecution told the court that when the accused person was offered a seat, she declined and surprisingly jumped into a waiting taxi cab which sped off. She however left the chargers of the phones behind.

Following this strange behaviour of the suspect, the landlord, who is serving as a witness in the case, rushed to the shop to find out from the sales girl whether the suspect had purchased something from her.

Later, when another taxi cab gave chase, the suspect was nowhere to be found.

According to the prosecution, a report was then made at the Community 18 police station.

Later, a witness in the case hinted the police that the accused hails from Ho in the Volta Region and that they could find her in the town.

Police, acting on this information, were able to arrest her at Ho. She was sent to the police station where she was identified by the sales girl.

The prosecution told the court that when the suspect was asked to give her statement to the police, she declined to do so, saying she would not speak to the police.

She pleaded not guilty to the charges of stealing leveled against her.

Madam Gyamera told the court that she was not the person they were looking for and that all the charges against her were fabricated.

According to her, she declined to give her statement to the police because they beat her up and later detained her in the toilet.

Source: Daily Guide