By Newman Anthony Levey in Bo
The Criminal Investigation Department of the Sierra Leone Police in Bo say they are investigating one John Messah, suspected of involvement in a series of fraudulent activities across three districts in the country.
Messah, who is under detention at the CID at the regional police station in Bo, is accused of duping many people in Freetown, Rutile (Bonthe) and Bo.
Southern Regional Police Media and Public Relations Officer, Inspector Mohamed Bobson Senu, told Politico that the suspect, pretending to be a staff of the Senegalese construction company - Compagnie Sahelienne D’ Entreprise (CSE) - in 2017 collected Le50,000 each from 95 people in the pretext of helping them gain employment in the company. Messah allegedly demanded the people to register as condition for the process. He allegedly did same with 155 people, from whom he requested Le30, 000 each.
Messah also allegedly collected Le4million from one Njala University student in Bo, promising to secure an employment for him as finance officer at CSE.
Inspector Senu told Politico that on the 26th of August, 2020, they received a report from a woman, name withheld, and some community people against the suspect.
According to the police report, the woman claimed that the suspect proposed a marriage to her and that they went to both her family and pastor to seek their blessings for the proposed date for their wedding. She narrated that he identified himself as Lilichain and claiming that his family was in Ghana and that he was in Sierra Leone because of his job with CSE.
The woman added that upon their arrival from seeing her parents in the village, the suspect took her to a car dealer at Karusu Street Junction, along Sewa Road in Bo and told her that he was going to buy her a car before the wedding. He went with the car for a test drive, but later claimed that the vehicle was not good enough for the woman. Apparently, all of that was an act to gain the trust of the woman.
As the complainant went on to narrate, according to the police account, it was when they got home that the suspect borrowed her phone to make a call. As soon as she gave him her phone, he disappeared, until his arrest last month.
According to Senu, it was during their investigations that the police came to realize that the suspect had defrauded so many people.
The police region spokesman said they have now requested the suspect’s file from Rutile and Freetown, ahead of a plan to charge the matter to court.
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