A joint operation by the Ghana Police Service and National Insurance Commission has arrested a suspected fake Insurance and Road Worthy Stickers dealer at Aboabo Extension near Kumasi in the Ashanti region. Abdul Rahaman, aged 24, was arrested at his home after weeks of undercover investigations.
It is estimated that 40 percent of all vehicles operating from the Ashanti region including private ones have fake Insurance policies after falling victims to the nefarious activities of fake insurance operators. Most of these unrecognized insurance operators incidentally operate in or around the premises of the Driver Vehicle and Licensing Authority as a strategy to enhance the trust and confidence of the unsuspecting motoring public.
Time without number, players in the transport industry such as the DVLA, Insurance companies and the National Insurance Commission, the statutory regulator of the insurance industry in Ghana, have been complaining about the negative effects activities of such fake individuals and groups have on genuine insurance business in the country while increasing the risk of the v/o: innocent motorists who patronize their services and products.
It was against this backdrop following a tip-off about the operations of fake insurance and other sticker dealers at Aboabo Extension near the Airport Roundabout in Kumasi, that the Ashanti regional office of the National Insurance Commission undertook weeks of underground investigation to verify the authenticity of the report. The matter was then reported to the Police and on Tuesday morning, the joint team zoomed straight into action.
However, on reaching the identified house from which the suspected group of fake Vehicle Insurance Stickers operate, occupants of the house told the police that none of the suspects was at home at the time. Eventually, 24-year old Abdul Rahman was found inside one of the rooms. Items found on him included a laptop computer, a printer, copies of suspected fake Vehicle Insurance Stickers and a quantity of A4 papers believed to be the raw material for the production of the fake motor Insurance and Road Worthy Stickers.
The case Investigator, Detective Sergeant Avemegah Selassie told the media that, though the team expected to arrest more than one suspect in the illegal operations, the arrest of Rahman could help in tracking down the others.
The Ashanti Regional Manager of the National Insurance Commission, Mr. Kofi Baffuor Senkyire, noted that operations of the fake Insurance dealers are not only increasing the risks of motorists on the road but also depriving most of the legitimate Insurance Companies of the premiums required to legitimately cover road and motor users in times of an accident.
