Mustapha Hamidu charged for fraud

A self-professed phone trader, Mustapha Hamidu, has appeared before an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly selling packed broken tiles as phones.

He has been charged with two counts of attempting to commit crime and defrauding by false pretence.

Hamidu, who is also known as Abulley, appeared before the court presided over by Kwabena Kodua Obiri-Yeboah yesterday (January 16).

His plea was, however, not taken by the court and is set to reappear on January 18 this year for his plea to be taken.

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 observe original phones he displays for sale.

After agreeing to specific prices through bargains, the defendant ends up changing the actual phones to phone cases packaged with pieces of broken tiles.

The prosecutor said, victims who bought the phones got home and, in their attempt to use the newly acquired phones, came to the realisation that they had been made to exchange their money for decorated phone covers stacked with pieces of broken tiles.

“Police on December 22, 2022, met 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,” he said.

Chief Inspector Ahiabor said by introducing customers to his business, the accused would in the end make them to part with cash ranging from GHc500.00 to GHc1,000.00 in exchange for his packaged broken tiles.

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 Honourable Court while efforts are underway to apprehend his accomplice, currently at large,” Chief Inspector Ahiabor said.