The Koforidua Circuit Court “A” presided by Her Honour Marian Affoh Polley on Monday remanded fifteen(15) Independent Representatives (IRs) of Qnet, a network marketing company into Police custody.
The accused persons were among dozens of Qnet agents arrested in Koforidua the Eastern Regional capital on Friday, October 15, 2021, during a special swoop carried out by Police Personnel deployed from the Counter-Terrorism and Concentration Camp under the commandant of Chief Superintendent Wejong Raymond Adofeim.
The accused persons include some West Africa Nationals.
They were charged for defrauding by pretenses when arraigned before the Circuit Court on Monday.
The accused however pleaded not guilty.
The Judge remanded them into Police custody to reappear today Tuesday, October 19, 2021, for ruling on the instant application for bail pleaded by the defense counsel.
Dozens of Qnet Agents were arrested together with hundreds of their recruits.
They were arrested at different locations in Koforidua, the Eastern Regional capital on Friday for using pretenses to defraud hundreds of people under the guise of Network marketing.
They were bused to Jubilee Park for screening and interrogation.
Recently, Qnet Agents operating in Koforidua held a daughter of a police officer hostage.
The victim who was schooling at the School of hygiene in Volta Region was lured to come to Koforidua and held hostage by Qnet Agents.
The Police officer through investigation managed to trace the whereabouts of her daughter and through the collaboration of the Koforidua police; she was rescued at the Qnet office in Two -Streams a suburb of New Juaben South Municipality.
There was similar confusion at Bornya a suburb of Municipality in the Eastern Region when a defrauded Malian-based footballer and other victims aided by residents arrested two agents of Qnet.
The footballer and other victims from Mali have become stranded in Koforidua after they were allegedly scammed by the agents of the controversial network marketing company.
According to the footballer, he was lured into the country by agents of Qnet under the guise of securing a deal with a premier league club in Ghana for him.
Upon his arrival in Koforidua, he was taken to a guest house at Bornya and made to pay 4,500 CFA to facilitate the free-agent football deal process.
The Qnet agent’s hanged replica jerseys of Accra Hearts of Oak, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, and Ghana Black Stars in the room as part of the deception plan.
After many weeks of stay in the Guest House, the victim became suspicious and conducted his investigation only to be told that he has been lured into Qnet.
He became furious on Thursday, September 16, 2021, and together with other defrauded victims from Mali went berserk and together with the youth arrested a female Malian through whom they came to Ghana to demand a refund.
The two Qnet Agents including the female Malian who also claimed that she is also a victim and stranded in Ghana hence sleeping on the streets after similar deception was eventually arrested by the Police and put in custody at Regional Police Headquarters.
Residents in Bornya say most of the victims of Qnet wandering around in the community have become security threats as some have been arrested for stealing from homes.
The Eastern Regional Capital has been flooded with persons operating us Qnet Agents defrauding several people.
The gents include Malians, Burkinabes, Beninois, and Togolese who mostly target their victims from their countries and hold them hostage in rented bedroom apartments.
Their Ghanaian accomplices also target unemployed Ghanaian youth and scammed them after collecting at least Ghc4, 200 under the guise of buying a product online for them.
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com/Obed Ansah
