Some staff of telecommunication companies in the country are involved in the rampant robberies of Mobile Money agents across the country, the Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Supt. Sheilla Kessie Abayie-Buckman has revealed.
According to her, investigations conducted into Mobile Money robberies have led to some staff of telcos and people close to the MoMo agents being implicated.
“There have been cases where we have traced suspects to the staff of telcos and people who live around them,” Supt. Abayie-Buckman said in an interview on Tuesday.
Several Mobile Money agents have been the target of armed robbers in recent weeks across the country. Last week, heavily armed men attacked an agent in Bantama in Kumasi and made away with over GHC200,000.
Over the weekend another agent was robbed at Klagon in Accra in broad daylight and about GHC2,000 was stolen. Several other agents have been robbed in the country with some sustaining gunshot wounds or losing their lives in the process.
Supt Shiela Buckman encouraged MoMo agents not to set up their business at secluded locations.
“It’s not just about night alone. Depending on where you are, you may be attacked day or night. So we should look at the premises in general. Operating late at night is one thing we must guard against that. More importantly, operating in an area where you could be attacked is also dangerous,” she said.
Last year, the police complained vehemently about the unwillingness of telcos to continue collaborative efforts at investigating mobile money fraud in which telco staff are implicated.
The telcos denied ever putting stumbling blocks in the way of the police and stated that they rather provide the police with information and provide technical assistance for the arrest of fraudsters.
Telcos had often created the impression their staff were never involved in any mobile money fraud, until recently, when they admitted, at a media forum organized by the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications that some staff have been sacked for the offence.
