The self-styled phone trader who allegedly sold packed broken tiles as phones has been admitted to bail in the sum of GH¢10,000 with two sureties by an Accra Circuit Court.
Mustapha Hamidu has been charged with two counts of attempting to commit crime and defrauding by false pretence.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges at the court presided over by Kwabena Kodua Obiri-Yeboah.
Proosecution’s facts
The facts of the case as read in court by the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Samuel Ahiabor, were that Abulley, who lives at Odorkor, had consistently swindled unsuspecting victims by introducing them to supposed original phones he displays for sale.
After agreeing to specific prices through bargains, he ends up changing the actual phones to phone cases packaged with pieces of broken tiles.
The prosecutor said victims who bought the phones only got home and realised that the newly acquired phones were merely decorated phone covers stacked with pieces of broken tiles.
“Police on December 22, 2022, met the accused at a place along a section of the Achimota overpass close to the old station with an original Tecno Camon 19 cellular phone in a phone cover, and two similar phone covers all packaged with broken tiles in his usual business, attempting to lure some victims to express interest in his business,” the prosecutor said.
Chief Inspector Ahiabor said by introducing customers to his business, the accused would make them to part with cash ranging from GH¢500 to GH¢1,000 in exchange for his packaged broken tiles in the end.
He added that a search on him revealed the fraudulent packages which caused his instant arrest to assist police investigations.
“Accused was, therefore, arraigned before this court, while efforts are underway to apprehend his accomplice currently at large,” Chief Inspector Ahiabor said.