Monrovia – Police in Brewerville have arrested two persons for allegedly impersonating as employees of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), and the Ministry of Public Works, and duping several business owners in the area.
The suspects, Jackson Nimely, 24, and Thomas Swen Darpay, 28, who claimed to be supporters of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), were arrested over the weekend following complaints filed by Brewerville City Mayor Bedell Fahn, on behalf of several business owners in the city.
They were arrested with fake business registration, letters of assignment from the LRA and the Ministry of Public Works, LRA receipts, and falsified identification cards.
According to a preliminary report from police officers assigned at the Zone Six, the suspects were in the constant habit of harassing, collecting monies from business owners dubiously, and threatening to close down businesses if the owners failed to comply.
The report disclosed that the suspects have admitted to the commission of the crime.
Speaking in an interview with FrontPageAfrica (FPA), suspect Jackson Nimely begged for mercy, and blamed the situation on the high wave of hardship in Liberia.
He admitted to falsifying documents of the two government entities as a means to survive.
“It happened already; we just need to find common ground. I was doing an illegal thing but it was somehow in favor of this government too. I can’t take money from people for registration because I don’t have the proper documents. All I can tell you is go to the office to do your payment,” stated.
“This is my first move. I started this at the beginning of this month. I want to appeal to the government to forgive me. I am a bona fide CDC member with membership. It is not our will and pleasure to do these things. But as a young man, you have to survive,” he maintained.
Suspect Nimely claimed to be a college student, who dropped out of school due to the lack of money.
“I faked the documents but I am not working with LRA. Nothing to do my brother. I am a student of the Starz College in Sinkor. I dropped from school because there is no money. We’ve been going to some of these ministries, but there is no way,” he added.
Another, suspect Thomas Darpay Swen, who claimed to be a graduate of the University Methodist University (UMU), sees their clandestine act as working in the interest of the government.
“We were like buttressing government efforts because most people are not informed when it comes to business registration. Sometimes they can give us L$100 or L$150. Since 2005, I have been a member of the CDC. We don’t have any documents to do registration for people,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the suspects have been detained at the Zone Six police depot.
They are expected to be formally charged and sent to court for prosecution.