The Ghana Police Service has arrested seven suspects in connection with the circulation of fake electronic traffic violation notices sent to members of the public.

Briefing the press on Thursday, February 26, Director General of Public Affairs DCOP Grace Ansah-Akrofi said the police moved quickly after the fraudulent messages began circulating.

“Our intelligence and cyber teams were tasked to immediately commence an investigation into the matter to get those behind these fake messages arrested,” she said.

She explained that the police also issued a public notice to alert citizens.

“A public notice was published to notify the general public that the notifications were false, fraudulent, invalid, and not coming from the Ghana Police Service, and that efforts were ongoing to get the perpetrators arrested and brought to justice,” she stated.

Read also: Ghana Police Service warns public against fake traffic violation messages

DCOP Ansah-Akrofi said the operation has so far produced significant results.

“I am delighted to announce that the operation by the Intelligence Directorate has yielded very good results, and seven suspects have so far been arrested in connection with the circulation of fraudulent ghost electronic traffic violation notices,” she said.

According to preliminary investigations, money paid by victims through links attached to the fake notices was moved through several mobile money numbers before being consolidated through one Martha Quarshie, a mobile money vendor based in Ada.

“Proceeds collected from victims through the provided links were being channelled through multiple mobile money numbers before being consolidated through one Martha Quarshie,” she explained.

Acting on this intelligence, a police team travelled to Ada on February 23 and arrested Martha Quarshie, Peter Ofori-MacCarthy, and Alfred Kofi Totimeh.

During interrogation, Martha Quarshie reportedly told investigators that a man named Prosper Otumfuor, based in Winneba, regularly sent her money to redistribute to other mobile money numbers and a bank account.

Prosper Otumfuor was subsequently identified as a central figure in the operation.

Police officers proceeded to Winneba on February 24 and arrested him. A search of his room led to the recovery of GH¢4,188 in cash, multiple SIM cards, mobile phones, and laptops believed to be linked to the fraud. He was later conveyed to Accra for further questioning.

On February 25, Martha Quarshie led police to another suspect in Accra, identified as 33-year-old Robert Agblehe, who was said to have connected her to Prosper Otumfuor.

A search in his room led to the retrieval of a black Dell laptop, two hard drives and a Samsung Galaxy A22 mobile phone.

Another suspect, Christian Agblehe, 32, a mobile money vendor, was also arrested. A search of his room and shop led to the recovery of three keypad phones, two Samsung smartphones, a GCB debit card, his Ghanaian passport, 14 Telecel SIM cards, one MTN SIM card, an ADB e-Switch card, a Ghana Card bearing the name Duku Rose, and GH¢6,790 in cash.

In a further development, Michael Edem Amomornu was arrested on the same day after arriving at the Intelligence Directorate to visit Prosper Otumfuor. Investigators identified him as a member of the network and a recipient of some of the proceeds.

“He was immediately arrested for questioning and is currently in custody assisting investigations,” DCOP Ansah-Akrofi said.

Police investigations revealed that Prosper Otumfuor allegedly registered Telecel Cash SIM cards in the names of family members and associates, including some of the suspects.

After registration, he kept the SIM cards and used them to receive payments from victims. He would then transfer the funds to Martha Quarshie and provide her with other registered numbers to redistribute the money.

“This layered structure was designed to obscure the trail of funds and also make detection difficult,” DCOP Ansah-Akrofi explained.

All seven suspects, Martha Quarshie, Peter Ofori-MacCarthy, Alfred Kofi Totimeh, Prosper Otumfuor, Robert Agbleke, Christian Agblehe, and Michael Edem Amomornu, are currently in Police custody and will be put before the court.

Investigations are ongoing to identify other members of the syndicate who may still be at large.

On behalf of the Inspector-General of Police, Christian Tetteh Yohuno, DCOP Ansah-Akrofi commended officers of the Police Intelligence Directorate and the Criminal Investigations Department for their work.

She praised “the speed, diligence, and professionalism with which they pursued this operation across multiple locations, from Accra to Ada to Winneba, to dismantle this criminal network.”

She further announced that the Police, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Transport, National Road Safety Authority, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, National Insurance Commission and the Ministry of Finance, are engaging Parliament to amend road regulations.

The proposed amendments are expected to pave the way for the rollout of a new technology-based traffic enforcement programme known as Traffic Tech GH in the coming months.