A member of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources' staff has been given a 15-month jail term with hard labour.
Gabriel Gyamerah Sarpong, the convicted person, was charged with extorting more than GH200,000 from illegal miners to help them engage in illicit mining operations.
On the advice of George Mireku Duker, the deputy minister of lands and natural resources in charge of mines, Sarpong was detained on Tuesday (September 13, 2022).
Last Tuesday, the Deputy Minister told Graphic Online that Sarpong had been turned up to the Ministries Police after reportedly confessing to extortion.
In court
Sarpong entered a guilty plea today (Friday) after being charged at an Accra Circuit Court.
The Evelyn Asamoah-presiding court gave him a 15-month term of hard labour in jail.
When Gabriel Gyamerah Sarpong came before the court today, he entered a plea of guilty to the allegation of defrauding by false pretence (September 16, 2022).
Because of his own plea, he was found guilty.
He was accused of defrauding under false pretences and two counts of claiming to be a governmental official.
On the other hand, he entered a not guilty plea on the charge of impersonating a public official.
The trial for the second charge has been set to begin on October 12, 2022.
In his plea, the defendant's attorney, Mudu Ade Lawal, said that while the convict was a government servant and a responsible citizen who had been working hard in the ministries, he was nevertheless "pushed by the devil" to perpetrate the crime.
Adding that the offender was a young guy with much to contribute to the country if given a chance, he begged the court to exercise pity.
"He is an IT professional and, if given a jail term, would associate with hardened criminals, which will worsen his situation," the man continued.
However, the court did not accept his plea; as a result, he was given a term of hard labor.
According to the report, Sarpong was detained on September 13, 2022, at the request of George Mireku Duker, the deputy minister of lands and natural resources in charge of mines.