Some police officers plant drugs on people to extort money from them - MP

Member of Parliament for Wa West, Peter Toobu who served as an Executive Secretary to former Inspector General of Police (IGP) David Asante Apeatu has said that some police officers plant drugs into the vehicles of some members of the public to blackmail and extort money from them.

His comment comes on the back of a viral audio in which a man shares his experience with some police officers in Accra who planted weed and cocaine in his car during a snap check to extort money from him.

The former senior police officer told Helen Appiah Ampofo on 3FM Sunrise Morning Show that some people are in the police service only because they want a livelihood and not because they want to be police officers, hence, such unscrupulous characters must be fished out and expelled from the police service.
“We need to look at some of the people wearing the uniform. Because the job market is tight, some people are not in uniform because they want to be police but because they want to get a salary. They want to survive in the world” he said.

Mr Peter Toobu explained that those people lack integrity and no values but are wearing the police uniform because they want to keep their heads above the waters.  Thus; for this reason, they will do anything and everything to make sure they achieve their set targets.
The Ghana Police Service on 17 January 2023 issued a press statement indicating the commencement of an investigation into the alleged unprofessional conduct by some police as mentioned in the viral audio.

However, the Wa West MP says what he expects to hear from the police differently from the press statement they released is that the victim has reported, his brother who is a soldier has also reported and both of them are assisting with investigations. “That is what is going to excite me but not just the audio” he added

Mr Toobu is therefore pleading with the soldier and the victim who was involved to show up and assist the police to ensure that we get to the bottom of the matter.

He mentioned that those people lack integrity and have no values but are wearing police uniforms because they want to keep their heads above the water.  It is for this reason that they will do anything and everything to make sure they achieve their set targets.

According to the Wa West legislator, extorting people with a security uniform is the highest form of unprofessionalism.

“Irrespective of the driving forces that push people towards negativity in life; being in the police uniform means one is covered by the powers of Ghana and is expected to stay above certain levels. You cannot justify crime because of the stress or poor welfare you are going through as an officer.”

Mr Toobu is advising that the Ghana Police Service is the only police service the country has therefore Ghanaians should speak out if things are going wrong with the police to ensure that it is efficient and professional in serving its mandates to the people.
“This is the police we have now; ill-trained, ill-equipped, less motivated and they are doing the best they can for you and me to ensure we live peacefully in this country.”

He also entreats the government of Ghana to reflect the welfare of the police in the budget and provide an enabling environment for the police to ensure that they police officers are proud and confident in their profession to work with integrity and effectively ensure the safety and security of the country.