3 immigration officers escape lynching after being accused of stealing GHc200
11th July 2024
A tense incident unfolded in Assin Dompim in the Assin Fosu Municipality of the Central Region when three Ghana Immigration Service officers were accused of stealing money from a trader's shop amounting to GH¢200.00.
The Ghana Immigration Service has established a pure water factory in Assin Fosu and usually dispatches their men to supply.
On Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in the evening, three officers were dispatched to deliver bags of sachet water to the shop owned by one Akos Tiwaa, who had previously reported missing money.
To clear her doubts and suspicions, she set a trap with GH¢200 to catch the perpetrators, and eyewitnesses alleged that the money disappeared from the money box immediately after the officers had finished offloading.
A search was initiated for the suspected officers, which attracted hundreds of irate youths.
In the course of the search, the money was found under the doormat of the officers' vehicle, sparking outrage in the community.
The disgruntled crowd demanded all the previously stolen money from the three suspected immigration officers, which they said amounted to over GH¢20,000.00.
This triggered tension among the angry youth and the immigration officers, and reinforcement from the Immigration Service was called to the scene.
However, police officers from the Central North Regional Police Command intervened to prevent escalation.
The officers were taken to the police station for safety.
The accused officers deny the allegations, and the incident is currently under investigation by the police.
Although efforts to reach the Immigration Service leadership were unsuccessful and no official statement has been released yet, sources from the service suggest the authorities of GIS have pledged to establish an independent investigation into the matter.
Unconfirmed reports gathered by Kasapa News' Yaw Boagyan revealed that only one of the occupants of the immigration-bound vehicle with registration number GI-144 is a staff member of the service, while the other two are casual workers.
It is important to note that the allegations have not been proven, and the officers are presumed innocent until the investigation is concluded.
No arrests have been made so far.