2 Arrested for sale of fake oil drilling sealant

A 52-year-old German and his Ghanaian accomplice who allegedly sold fake oil drilling pipe sealant to a businessman in Accra have been arrested by the police.

The police named the German as Klaus-Diepor Hierichf, while his accomplice was identified as Kwesi Kwakye, 47, a trader.

Two other accomplices who were identified only as Elder Mensah and Robert are currently at large.

They were said to have sold a substance they purported to be a sealant for oil drilling pipes which was in short supply at the Jubilee fields.

However, the substance was found to be sand mixed with a whitening substance popularly known as 'blue' when it was examined.

Unknown caller 
The Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police Ms Afia Tenge, told the Daily Graphic that the suspects were arrested at East Legon on September 1, 2014.

She said although the German claimed to have lived in Ghana for the past four year, he failed to produce his passport, which he claimed was missing.

The victim, Alex Darko, a resident of Kumasi, is said to have reported to the police that he ha received a call from an unknown caller who identified himself as Robert on August 26, 2014, with the caller introducing him to a lucrative business.

According to Ms Tenge, Robert told Darko that there was a shortage of oil drilling pipe sealants on the Jubilee field and he (Robert) could direct him to a supplier of the product.

Robert then directed Darko to contact the supplier, whose name was given as Elder Mensah.

GH¢1,000 profit 
Ms Tenge said Darko was told that he would buy the product at GH¢4,000 and sell it at GH¢5,000 to the operators on the Jubilee field and make a profit of GH¢1,000.

She said shortly after receiving the call, Darko had another call from a man who introduced himself as an engineer on the Jubilee field who needed the oil drilling pipe sealants to buy urgently.

The complainant said the first caller had a foreign accent and so he realised he was not a Ghanaian and then a few minutes later Kwakye also called and claimed he was on the Jubilee field and needed an unspecified quantity of the oil drilling pipe sealant.

Ms Tenge said Darko told the police that he then became interested and arranged to meet Robert at Beento-Kwashieman, where he bought one of the oil drilling pipe sealants at GHc4,000.

She said after informing Hierichf and Kwakye that he had bought the sample, they urged him to buy more because there was a market for it on the Jubilee field.

'It was then that the complainant said he became suspicious and then informed the police about the transaction,' said Ms Tenge.

She said through investigations, the police arrested the two suspects and had since mounted a search for the two accomplices.