Three arrested for issuing fake certificates

Story: Mary Mensah
THREE suspects have been arrested by the police for allegedly issuing certificates of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and some public universities.
The suspects, said to be operating around the Orion Cinema at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, charge their clients between GH¢300 and GH¢400, depending on the type of certificate needed.
They allegedly scan original certificates and change the low grades on them to higher ones and later print them out again as original from WAEC or the various public universities.
The suspects are Righteous Atta Owusu, 43; Evans Danquah Darko, 42, and Albert Ofosu Appiah, 34, a graphic designer.
Briefing the press in Accra yesterday, the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Patrick Timbillah, said on November 11, 2012, the Greater Accra Regional CID received information that a group of young men was dealing in fake university and WAEC certificates.
He said some plainclothesmen were subsequently sent to the area to ask for a change of the grades on their certificates.
Mr Timbillah said one of the suspects, Owusu, agreed to meet one of the policemen at the Orion Cinema at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle but Owusu sent Darko to meet the new customer, who happened to be a plainclothes policeman, for the money and the type of certificate he wanted.
According to the regional police commander, as soon as Darko got to the spot to meet the disguised policeman, he was arrested and sent to police station where, upon interrogation, Darko indicated that he had been sent by Owusu.
He said suspect Darko then led the police to a house at Abeka where Appiah, the graphic designer, was also arrested.
A search conducted in Appiah’s room revealed a Dell laptop, a scanner, certificates and results slips issued by almost all the public universities, as well as papers used in printing the certificates.
He said the suspects were currently assisting the police in their investigations and would be arraigned to face the appropriate charges collectively or individually.
In a related development, the Greater Accra Regional Police have arrested a man suspected to be snatching vehicles in Accra and Kumasi.
The suspect, Yaw Afrifa, 32, also believed to be in the drug business, is said to have been on the police wanted list for more than eight months now.
 According to Mr Timbillah, Afrifa was arrested at Dansoman on November 14, 2012 following a tip-off when he arrived from Kumasi to allegedly undertake robbery activities.
He said Afrifa would be transferred to the Kumasi Police where many robbery cases were pending against him.