The Central Command Headquarters of the Ghana Army has arrested a 38-year-old man for posing as a military commander and allegedly extorting monies from illegal miners at Amansie West District.
The suspect, identified as Jonas Afriyie Poku, is “a physically challenged lotto agent from Pokukrom” in the Ashanti Region.
The military, in their press statement on Sunday, February 6, said the suspect was arrested upon a tip-off, and “upon interrogation, it came to light that the suspect for some time now has been calling illegal miners and introducing himself as the Military commander who carried out the just-ended OPERATION HALT in the Amansie Central and its environs.”
The suspect has been handed over to the police.
Below is the full statement:
For some time now, the Central Command Headquarters of the Ghana Army has been receiving information about some persons parading as Military Officers and extorting monies from illegal miners in the Command Area of Responsibility. Against this backdrop, the Command instituted some measures to fish out these unscrupulous individuals whose activities are denting the prestigious reputation of the Command and the Ghana Armed Forces as a whole.
Acting on a tip-off, personnel of the Command arrested a 38-year old man for posing as a Military Commander and extorting monies from illegal miners at Amansie West District.
The suspect, identified as Mr Jonas Afriyie Poku, a physically challenged lotto agent from Pokukrom, a suburb of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region was apprehended on Friday 4 February 2022.
Upon interrogation, it came to light that the suspect for some time now has been calling illegal miners and introducing himself as the military commander who carried out the just-ended OPERATION HALT in the Amansie Central and its environs. He will then threaten the illegal miners to either pay monies or have their equipment destroyed.
One of the victims, Mr Appiah Andrews of Essuowin in the Amansie West District indicated that the suspect coerced him to cooperate with his terms or have his site and machinery destroyed. The victim out of fear reached out to another illegal miner, Mr Eric Frimpong who also confirmed to have received similar threats from the same individual and as a result, paid an amount of Five Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHC5000.00) to him.
The suspect was first handed over to the Military Police for interrogation and subsequently handed over to the Civil Police at the Regional Police Headquarters for further investigation.
The Command wishes to inform the general public that the Ghana Armed Forces is doing everything to jealously protect its hard-won image. Consequently, systems have been put in place to closely monitor Central Command’s Area of Responsibility which covers Ashanti, Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo Regions in order to fish out such unscrupulous persons whose activities are dragging the reputation of the Ghana Armed Forces through the mud.
The general public is hereby encouraged to report all such persons within the afore-mentioned Regions to either the nearest military establishment or to the civil police.