By Pamela Henry-Igwe
Four persons allegedly impersonating government agency on the Covid-19 pandemic have been arrested by the Anambra state police command.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, Mr. Haruna Mohammed, disclosed in a statement that the impersonators were parading themselves as officials of the Ministry of Health, fully kitted with reflective jackets and caps with inscriptions “Fight Against Covid-19”.
He said the suspects were arrested following an intelligence report by police operatives attached to the Central Police Station (CPS) Onitsha.
The suspects are Anthony Chidubem Oyatubo, a 30-year-old man from Nimo in Njikoka LGA; Nwachukwu Chidi, aged 31, from Awka; Chris Okeke, 30, also from Awka; and Olisa Moura, 25, from Onitsha.
According to the PPRO, the suspects were arrested with flyers, hand sanitizers and face masks which they seemed to have produced locally under unhygienic conditions. They had been selling the products to an unsuspecting public and were distributing the items to various outlets in Onitsha, before their arrest.
Mr. Haruna Mohammed said that preliminary police investigation revealed that the suspects were neither government workers nor health officials as they claimed, but seemed to be taking advantage of the present pandemic scare to market unhygienic products to oblivious buyers.
Items recovered from the suspects included three cartoons of hand sanitizer, flyers, several reflective jackets, four caps and over fifty nose masks.
The PPRO said that investigation was ongoing, adding that the suspects would be charged to court at the conclusion of investigations.
Meanwhile the Anambra state Commissioner of Police (Cp), Mr. John Abang, has enjoined the public to be weary of such nefarious criminals.
