Suspect attempts to strip naked

Page 34: June 9, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A 37-year-old woman who the police say has been on their wanted list, created a scene at the Police Headquarters yesterday, when she attempted to strip naked.
In the process of interrogation, the suspect, Benedicta Gyamerah, screamed at the top of her voice calling for help claiming she was been manhandled and started undressing.
According to the Nima Divisional Police Command, they have been looking for Benedicta since April, this year, for allegedly defrauding a number of business enterprises.
She was arrested by the Panthers Unit of the Police Headquarters after she had reportedly gone to defraud another person of GH¢30,430.
The Daily Graphic in its April 21, 2008 edition, published a story in which the Nima Divisional Police Command had declared Benedicta wanted and sought public assistance for her arrest.
It came to light during investigations that the Commercial Crime Unit at the CID Headquarters, Accra Region and the Odorkor Police Command were also looking for Benedicta for similar offences.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Public Affairs Officer of the CID, Inspector J. B. Darkwah, said Benedicta had on May 12, 2008, gone to a trader to collect car batteries and acid costing GH¢30,430.
He said after collecting the items, Benedicta asked the trader to follow her for the money.
Inspector Darkwah said on reaching the Lapaz market, the suspect asked the trader, with whom she was travelling in a taxi, to wait for her in the taxi while she (Benedicta) discussed an issue with someone close by.
According to him, the complainant and the taxi driver waited for several hours but Benedicta failed to show up.
He said upon returning to her shop, the driver of the cargo truck whom Benedicta hired to take the goods to Kumasi, surfaced to say that the suspect called to ask him to take the goods to Adenta.
Inspector Darkwah said the suspect returned to the cargo truck driver with two vehicles to offload the goods and asked the truck driver to follow one of the vehicles, in which she sat, to collect his money.
He said on the way, Benedicta called the driver to pick up her handbag at the place where the goods were offloaded.
Inspector Darkwah said the driver went to the place but did not see any handbag and returned only to realise that Benedicta had left with the other vehicles.
He said in some instances, Benedicta would ask her victims to issue her with receipts in advance, but absconded later through similar means.
He said each time she was arrested and confronted, she would produce the receipt issued ealier to prove that she actually paid for the goods and, thus, made the victims lose out.
The modus operandi of the woman is to enter a shop and request to purchase some of the items being sold.
After negotiating the price, she requests that the owner of the shop or the sales person follow her to the bank to enable her to withdraw some money to effect payment.
Before going to the bank with her victim, she arranges for a vehicle to cart the items to a destination.
At the place, Benedicta makes arrangements with a new vehicle to cart the items to another place and thus succeeds in deceiving the first driver of the final destination of the goods he has carted.
On the way, however, she sneaks away, leaving the victim stranded.