Fresh details emerging from the alleged kidnapping of a woman in Takoradi have left many shocked.

The Ghana Police Service has confirmed that the 27-year-old Josephine Panyin Mensah was never pregnant.

This comes after Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah made similar comments which triggered an uproar among some residents in the Sekondi.

Police have conducted investigations since her reappearance on September 21, with preliminary findings pointing to a suspicion that the victim and her cohorts could have orchestrated the incident.

In a statement issued by the Police’s Public Affairs Directorate, medical experts have found that Josephine, who they now describe as a suspect, “was never pregnant within the period under review.”

According to the press release, this was the conclusion reached by health officials at the Axim Government Hospital, where she has been receiving care after her reappearance.

In the Police’s account, the victim indicated that she visited the European Hospital in Takoradi for antenatal assessment during interrogation.

However, Police checks from the facility suggest that Josephine “visited the hospital without pregnancy, somewhere in October last year.”

It was not clear what could be the rationale behind the incident.

But the Police suspects a possible conspiracy and has arrested three other persons for further questioning.

Meanwhile, the statement signed by the Director-General of the Police Public Affairs Directorate, ACP Kwesi Ofori, also expressed concern over a seeming surge in “self-kidnapping” in the Western Region in recent times.

Many of these, the statement said, were executed to “make money out of ransoms.”

“A team with support from the National Headquarters has been put together to quell this emerging crime in the Western region,” the September, 23 press release stated.

The Police further assured that public of its continued investigation to bring closure to the matter while ensuring the safety of Josephine Mensah.