The Ghana Police Service has expressed worry over the increasing rate of charlatanic advertisements in the country.
This comes on the back of a worryingly increasing number of advertisements aimed at luring people into dubious activities and other get-rich-quick schemes.
A statement from the police said the situation must be checked because of the dire consequences it is having on Ghana’s security.
“The activities which often begin with misleading advertisements on some mainstream and social media platforms lure inspecting members of the public including children and deceive them into engaging in dubious acts, in the hope of getting rich overnight.
“Police investigations have recently shown that the upsurge in such activities has contributed to serious crimes such as defrauding by false pretenses, kidnapping and even murder.
“Some recent notorious cases, attributable to the phenomenon include the Mankessim murder case, where the suspects under the pretext of sending their victims abroad, murdered them for ritual money and the Kasoa case where two teenage boys murdered their colleagues for ritual money,” the statement said.
The police stressed that charlatanic advertisements are not just unethical but criminal and punishable under the laws of Ghana.
It urged broadcasters and operators of various electronic communication networks to also be cautious and not air such advertisements on their channels.
Meanwhile, the police assured the public of its readiness to deal with the situation.
“In order to tackle this menace, the service has intensified its enforcement efforts across the country alongside education of all relevant stakeholders on the position of the law on the matter,” the statement added.
Below is the statement to that effect
