$160,000: Two men arrested for selling a 20-year-old

Two men are in the grips of the Swedru Divisional Police Command for attempting to sell a Benin national for $160,000.

The suspects, Issah Baba, 27, a Ghanaian and his accomplice who has been identified as Ibrahim Keita, a Malian, both residing in Agona Nyakrom had hatched the plan to sell the victim, Massim Sousu, 20, at the said cost and were only looking for a buyer.

Modus Operandi

A source within the police told Graphic Online on Sunday that, an informant during the month of April 2020 approached Detective Sergent Edem Ametorwogah of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Swedru Divisional Police that the suspects were looking for a prospective buyer.

According to the source, the CID then posed as the buyer and started communicating with the suspects in an attempt to buy the victim at the agreed cost.

The source noted that at about 8 am on June 26, 2020, Ametorwogah was informed by the suspects that the victim had arrived from Benin and was being housed at Agona Swedru and they both agreed to meet to conclude the transaction.

Suspects’ arrest

A team of Police Detectives led by Detective Sergeant Clement Yamoah were dispatched to follow the suspects and the victim and the buyer to a Guest House(name withheld) to enable the buyer to pay the said amount to take custody of the victim.

The suspects decided to meet the buyer without the victim and told the CID who posed as the buyer that they have left the victim at the Awutu Bawjiase lorry station.

Subsequently, the suspects led the buyer who was trailed by the Police to the Bawjiase lorry station where the victim was waiting for the suspects before payment could be done and in the process, the police team arrested the suspects.

The suspects have since been sent to the anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Ghana Police Service for further investigations.