Twenty-four suspected middlemen, also known as ‘goro boys’, who issue fake vehicle documents to clients at the 37 Regional Office of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) were arrested in a swoop by the police in Accra yesterday.
They are alleged to have been issuing fake driving licences, roadworthy stickers and registration papers to the clients and some of them were arrested while they were offering these services to customers.
The suspects, aged between 23 and 40 years, have been detained at the Airport Police Station.
The police carried out the swoop around midday following a request by the management of the DVLA 37 Regional Office.
Forty-one ‘goro’ boys were arrested at the 37 Regional Office in Accra in a similar swoop three months ago. Sixteen of the 41 suspected ‘goro boys’ are currently in court facing charges of unlawful transaction at the DVLA office.
Airport Police
The Airport Police Crime Officer, Superintendent Felix Anyidoho, told the Daily Graphic that the police would interrogate the suspects and arraign those found culpable.
He also said the swoop was part of a co-ordinated effort to rid the 37 DVLA office of ‘goro boys’.
Supt Anyidoho advised the public to stop dealing with the ‘goro boys’ since they risked being given fake driving licences and other documents.
DVLA management
The Accra Regional Manager of DVLA, Mr Noah Tetteh Matey, said the activities of the ‘goro boys’ disturbed the smooth operations of the DVLA, since they collected the documents and money that were supposed to be handled by DVLA officials from the DVLA’s clients and ended up giving them fake driving licences, roadworthy stickers and vehicle registration numbers. As a result, he said, money that was supposed to go the state ended up in their pockets.
Mr Matey disclosed that some of the ‘goro boys’ had started forging his signature on registration documents for DVLA customers.
Earlier in an interview, Mr Matey disagreed with a suggestion that the processes for acquiring registration documents and driving licences were too cumbersome, which made some people opt for the services of the ‘goro boys’.
Source: Graphic Online