A final-year student of the Takoradi Polytechnic and two others have been caught with 178 fake Ghana cedi notes in GH¢5 denominations. The fake currencies were found on the three when they tried to buy 50Gp (¢5,OOO) worth of onions from a hawker at the Takoradi Central Market. The suspects are Francis de-Graft Amoah, the final-year student, Eric Owusu-Ansah and Joe Mensah, a construction labourer and a driver, respectively. Speaking to the press at the Western Regional Police Headquarters in Sekondi, the Regional Commander of Police, Mr Kofi Duku Arthur, said Amoah was arrested by the market women at about 8:00 a.m. last Sunday when he used one of the fake notes to buy onions from a boy around the Takoradi Central Market. “When the boy, who did not have change, gave the GH¢5 to a woman to change into smaller denominations for him to enable him to give change to the suspect, the money was found to be fake,” he said. Mr. Arthur continued that a search was conducted on the suspect and more fake notes were found on him, based on which he was handed over to the police. He said investigations later revealed that the two other suspects were members of the same church and friends of Amoah’s, who they convinced to produce ¢5 million to be doubled by Alhaji Baba at New Town, A suburb of Accra. Mr. Arthur said the suspects had met at the Mission House of the Great Site Ministry Church at Fadama, from where Mensah led the others to the residence of Alhaji Baba at New Town. Upon meeting the Alhaji, the Regional Commander said, the three produced the ¢5 million and then took delivery of 200 fake Ghana cedi notes, valued at ¢10 million in the old currency. Owusu-Ansah and Amoah then sent the fake notes to Takoradi and started spending them at the markets. The commander said when Amoah was arrested with the 53 fake notes, Owusu-Ansah heard about it and quickly bolted with the rest of the notes. Mr. Arthur said Amoah then led the police to Accra, where Owusu-Ansah and Mensah were arrested and 125 fake Ghana cedi notes were retrieved, bringing the total number of fake notes retried to 178. He said 12 of the fake new Ghana cedi notes had already been used by the group. Source: Daily Graphic