Police officer, two others remanded over robbing Indian nationals of GHc595k, $45k cash

The Circuit Court in Accra has ordered that Inspector Abednego Bortier, a police officer stationed at the Nima Police Station, together with two other people, including a tutor, be remanded into the custody of the Nima Police Station for the next week.

It is reported that they were successful in stealing large quantities of money from their Indian victims, but when they were arrested, the police were able to recover GHc595,665.00 and USD$45.140.00 respectively.

Earlier today, Thursday, July 27, Abednego Bortier and two others, Helena Teye, a self-styled blogger, and Francis Omari, a tutor, were brought before the court on two provisional accusations of conspiracy to commit robbery and robbery.

Elizabeth Teye, the fourth person accused of the crime, is believed to be hiding from the authorities, and a search for her is currently underway.

The individuals identified as the complainants in this case are Indian businessmen who live in Osu, Accra. They go by the names Girish Saohwani, Manish Kumar, Bhosale Vijay Kantilal, and Lalwani Sumy Kumar.

Their plea on the allegations was not accepted in court on Thursday, July 27, 2023, because the Police Prosecutor, Inspector Teye Okuffo, pleaded for them to be held so that they may be subject to additional investigation.

The petition of the prosecutor was that, taking into account the seriousness of the offence and the severity of the punishment, additional investigations ought to be conducted.

The judge presided over the proceedings. Additionally, Her Honour Kizita Naa Koowa Quarshie allowed the petition of the Prosecution to release the things that were retrieved to the Complainants.


Since then, the court hearing has been postponed until August 3, 2023.

A few quick facts

According to the evidence presented by the prosecution, the complainants Girish Saohwani, Manish Kumar, Bhosale Vijay Kantilal, and Lalwani Sumy Kumar are all Indian businessmen who live in the Osu neighbourhood of Accra.

It has been brought to the attention of the court that the First Accused, Helena Teye, is a So-Called Blogger, and that the Second Accused, Abednego Bortier, is a Police Officer stationed at the Nima Police Station.

According to the facts, Francis Omari, who is the third accused, works as a Tutor at IPMC in Accra, while Elizabeth Teye, who is the fourth accused, is a large.

Inspector Okuffo testified in front of the court that the complainants were at their home in Osu on July 19, 2023 at approximately 0800 hours when the accused individuals with Bortier (2nd Accused) dressed in a Police uniform knocked on their door. Inspector Okuffo said that the complainants were at their home when the incident occurred.

According to the Prosecutor, the accused individuals introduced themselves as a Special Investigation Team (SIT), and they stated that they were there to undertake an investigation into criminal actions based on the intelligence that they had obtained.

Inspector Okuffo further informed the court that the accused persons then handcuffed the complainants, ransacked their rooms, and robbed them of the items listed on the charge sheet by threatening and intimidating them.

He stated that the suspects loaded the stolen property into a waiting Nissan Sentra saloon car and then fled the scene. A report was filed with the police, and an investigation was started as a result of the incident.

Items worth GHc185, 105, and $22,500 were taken.

Bortier, the police officer who was designated as A2 by the prosecutor, was apprehended after being tracked, recognised, and confirmed to be the police officer who was in uniform during the heist.

Inspector Okuffo stated that Bortier confessed to the crime while being questioned, and he led the police to his home in Dzorwulu, where they found cash totaling GH&185,105.00 and US$22,500.00.

Bortier (A2) is reported to have mentioned Helena Teye (A1), Francis Omari (A3), and Elizabeth Teye (A4) as his co-conspirators, according to the prosecutor.

The investigation that was conducted resulted in the arrest of Helena Teye in Legon Gardens on July 22nd, according to the Prosecutor.

He testified in front of the court that Helena Teye, while being questioned, asserted that the complainants were engaged in money laundering, which is the reason for their conduct.

Over GHc63K worth of booty is yours to share.

After that, according to Inspector Okuffo, the police brought her to her home in the Lakeside neighbourhood, where a check of her room was carried out, and a total of GHc63,800.00 in cash was discovered.

The prosecutor stated that Helena had stated to the police that the money that was discovered in her chamber was her portion of the loot from the crime.

He stated that after repeated questioning, Helena admitted that, upon learning of the arrest of Bortier, she had transferred the money from her room to a friend who was staying at Teshie. He said this happened after Helena was interrogated.

According to him, Helena then led the police to the buddy in question at Teshie, where they found a cash stash consisting of GHe242,100.00 and USS18,640.00 respectively.

A portion of the booty for the tutor

Omari, who the prosecutor claims works as a tutor, was also traced down and apprehended in Osu, close to Danquah Circle.
Inspector Okuffo stated that upon his arrest, the suspect confessed to the act and led police to his house in Amasaman-Fise, where they found cash totaling GHc64,920.00 and US$2,000.00.

The prosecutor stated that the passports, laptops, and mobile phones that were mentioned on the charge sheet were found in Bortier's Hyundai salon automobile with the registration number GS731-22 that was parked on the premises of IPMC, Nkrumah Circle. All of these items had been recovered.

Reconstruction of the crime scene

According to Inspector Okuffo, the accused individuals took the police to the scene of the crime on July 23, 2023, and displayed how they were able to successfully loot the complaining party.

He testified in front of the court that, according to the findings of the investigation conducted by the police, the complainant, who owns and operates a supermarket in Osu, takes their daily sales home after the store closes each day.

According to the police, Helena Teye became aware of the situation, organised other accused persons to carry out an activity designed to terrify the complainants, and stole their money from them in the process.

capturing of the action on video

The prosecutor testified in front of the court that on July 19, 2023, the alleged perpetrators went to the residence of the complainants and robbed them of the articles that are listed on the charge sheet.

According to him, the accused individuals filmed themselves committing the deed, and the tapes in question have been recovered from Helena Teye's laptop.

According to the Prosecutor, after doing their crime, the accused parties travelled to the private residence of Bortier (A2) at La and divided up the loot there.

Inspector Okuffo stated that the police have recovered a total of GHc595,665.00 and USS45,140.00 from the individuals who are being accused, adding that the same items have been kept as exhibits.