Guard on bail over illegal possession of police uniform

An Accra Circuit Court has granted a GHC10,000.00 bail with a surety to a palace guard accused of illegally possessing police uniform and other property.

Julius Aryee, also known Julius Nketia Boateng, denied the offence and he was ordered by the Court to make his next appearance on June 19, 2024.

Police Inspector Edna Aninga told the Court presided over by Mr Kwabena Koduah Obiri- Yeboah that the National Police Intelligence Directorate (PID) was the complainant whilst the accused person, Aryee was a 23-year-old palace guard.

She said the accused person was a resident of Agbogbloshie, Old Fadama and on March 28, 2024, at about 1600 hours, the Directorate picked an intelligence that a young man was parading himself as a Police officer at Agbogbloshie and its enclave.

The Police on receipt of the information immediately moved to the community and succeeded in arresting the accused person.

Prosecution said on interrogation, the accused person confessed that he was not a policeman but he sometimes dressed in both Police and Military uniforms for fun, a statement Police found to be untrue.

Inspector Aninga said on same day, a search conducted in his room at Agbogbloshie uncovered three black berets, two army caps, three army T-Shirts, three army badges, a dummy pistol and a T-shirt with Police badge and Accra Regional Police inscriptions at the back of the shirt.

The Court heard that the accused person willingly granted Police access to his mobile phone and inspection conducted on his whatsApp revealed pictures of him fully dressed in police and military uniforms.

She said investigation on the accused person's Tiktok handle named “SMART.KVNG,” showed an uploaded pictures of himself dressed in police and military uniforms on separate occasions.

Prosecution said the accused during further interrogation confirmed police information that he was sometimes found with a side arm and he stated that both the dummy side arm and all the uniforms belonged to his two brothers who he claimed were Police officer and soldier, respectively and stationed in Takoradi.

On April 05, 2024, the investigation was extended to Mpatasie near Agona Nkwanta in the Western Region where the accused person had been employed as a guard in the Queen mother's palace.

A search in a room allocated to the accused person in the palace uncovered a black long sleeve Police uniform with the name “Nketiah Boateng” and Ghana Police Service crest inscribed on both chest with a police lanyard hanged on the wall in the room.

Inspector Aninga said the accused confessed to the Police that he was the one who brought the uniform in there and the one he wore it as captured in his Tiktok videos and same was retrieved.

Police told the Court that investigation conducted indicated that the accused person did not have any brother in the Police or Army.

Investigation revealed that the accused is known in Agbogbloshie and Kwame Nkrumah Circle as a policeman stationed at Agbogbloshie for the past two years, Inspector Aninga said.

She said after Investigation, the accused person was charged with the offence and put before Court.

GNA