A Sierra Leone police officer has been apprehended and is currently facing the accusation of impersonating SLPP govt Foreign Minister, Dr David Francis.
Reports say police officer Mohamed Lahun, an Inspector and Officer in Command OC at the Rokel Police Post has been arrested and detained at the Criminal Investigation Department CID headquarters in Freetown for using a fake Facebook account carrying the name of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Professor David John Francis to criminally impersonate and defraud people.
The fraudulent activity started on October 2nd, 2021, when Inspector Lahun used this fake account to send a message to one businesswoman Mary Kaillie who sells phones and other electrical devices at Bathurst Street in Freetown. The police officer informed that he will be travelling to the United States and that he may want to assist the businesswoman to buy and delivering her goods without paying for flight or DHL fees.
The crook police officer collected USD $2,000 from the unsuspecting Mary Kaillie and after nine days, on October 11, 2021, he texted Mary again, but this time he used an international number and requested an additional USD $500 claiming that he has got some business opportunities which he wants to seek for the lady. So he sent one of his aid boys called Michael who claimed to be the younger brother of Minister David Francis and collected the money.
Not stopping there, the dodgy police officer again requested another $1,700 dollars from this same woman on 15th November 2021 with claims that the goods have arrived and that he needed to clear the goods at Queen Elizabeth 2 Water Quay Port in Freetown. Fortunately for Mary, he discussed the issue with her brother who went and met the man at Mary’s house who came to collect the money at night. At the scene, there were three of them, the police officer Mohamed Lahun himself, the fake brother Michael Francis and another gentleman whose name has not been discussed.
Finally, Inspector Lahun was arrested and the other two suspects managed to escape. Preliminary investigations so far at the CID have proved that Inspector Lahun and others are running a criminal cartel with fake Facebook accounts of prominent people to defraud businessmen and women. They also promised people jobs, travelling passports, overseas travels, and scholarships for huge sums of money.
Currently, the matter is being dealt with by CID and the Cyber Unit that have discovered mobile phones registered with different foreign numbers used to defraud people. AIG Lahai at CID headquarters in Freetown is one of the senior police officers who is handling the matter, and the Inspector General of Police has committed to set an example on such criminal racketeering gang within the Sierra Leone police. Courtesy: News 24 publication.
