I’m Not 419

-Clearing Agent

Mr. George Boateng of Honesty Clearing and Forwarding Agency Limited has denied reports that he is an advanced fee fraud operative, known in local parlance as 419.

In swift reaction to a DAILY GUIDE publication on Friday, Boateng noted that the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) Police misinformed the media when they referred to him as a fraudster, following a case between him and one of his clients.

According to him, he was a genuine clearing agent at the nation's leading Air and Sea Ports in Accra and Tema, and that he had never duped any of his customers.

He said in the particular case that took him to the KIA police station, it was his accuser, Emmanuel Biney, who should rather be charged for deceit of a public officer.

Tendering in documentary evidence to support his case, George stated that he indeed cleared two packages from South Africa which were officially examined at 3.35pm on 26th January 2007 by Mr. F. Kpogo, a CEPS officer at the airport.

The document listed the contents as 5 pieces of T-shirts, 7 pieces of gents clothing, 8kg of used-clothing and some four mobile phones.

Boateng explained that his client failed to pay him for his services so he decided to keep three of the phones until his service charges were paid.
He denied also that the contents of the packages were rags, saying if it were so the CEPS officer who conducted the examination would have listed them as such.
“If indeed it contained rags why did he wait for five long months before reporting to the Police, when I had met them several times this year?”
He explained that following an amicable settlement of the matter at the police station, he had released the phones to the Police while his accusers also promised to pay him for his services.