Police in Abuakwa with support from the Revenue Protection Unit of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) have arrested a 54-year-old man, John Fofie, for installing fake meters for some people in Kunsu in the Ahafo Ano South West District of the Ashanti Region.
He has been accused of replacing people’s post-paid meters which has debt on them with fake meters in the community.
According to sources, ECG officials had installed new postpaid meters in the home of the affected people but routine checks by officers uncovered that the culprit had replaced the meters with fake ones.
This came to light when the officials on the revenue mobilization drive detected the problem in the area.
The exercise, which has helped ECG to retrieved GH¢50 million within two weeks, is expected to retrieve all the GH¢1.2billion owed the power distribution company by the customers.
The exercise, which started about two weeks ago, also uncovered other illegalities, according to officials.
After detecting the problem, victims were interrogated, leading to the arrest of John Fofie as the man installing the fake meters in the area .
Checks conducted in his room discovered seven fake postpaid meters. They have all been confiscated by ECG.
Speaking to the media in Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional Director of the Revenue Protection Unit of the ECG, Ing Kofi Danso, said they are on the look-out for other culprits including the one who illegally transferred the meters.
He said the company’s surveillance over the past months has revealed that some unscrupulous people have been making frantic efforts to infiltrate the stable electricity distribution network with illegal meters.
He further explained that “such illegal meters are also fake and have been affixed with stickers to appear as though it was coming from the Electricity company of Ghana”.
“We will also not rest on our oars but work hard to arrest and prosecute perpetrators or any persons with intentions to undertake such criminal activities.
“Three meter bypasses were discovered. The culprits weren’t available. The police have asked them to report themselves to the police station.”
Officials have also detected 50 fake prepaid meters at the Race Course Market in Kumasi.
The monitoring is one of many exercises the ECG is conducting in the Ashanti Region following the growing cases of illegal power use in the region.
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