Alhaji Baba Ali, a 19-year-old driver and a self-styled Mallam, has been remanded in prison custody by the Techiman Circuit Tribunal for defrauding two farmers of 2.5 million cedis.

Ali pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit crime and defrauding by false pretences.

Police Chief Inspector Samson Jebuni told the tribunal, presided over by Mr. Justice Nicholas Abodakpi, that in May this year Ali and Salifu Baka (at large) approached the two farmers, Ahmed Abu and Nicholas Osei and told them that they were soothsayers who could locate gold dust buried on their farms by their ancestors.

The farmers became interested and readily paid 600,000 cedis demanded by the accused for the purchase of a red cock, a piece of cloth, cigarettes and Alla-Bama Oil to perform some rituals.

Chief Inspector Jebuni said the farmers took Ali and Baka to their farms at Tanoso.

Two days later, the accused accompanied the farmers back to Tanoso where after digging at a spot on the farm, Baka brought out a pot full of sand sprinkled with some yellowish pieces of metal.

The prosecutor said the accused slaughtered the cock and took the pot away.

Later Ali picked one of the yellowish metals and went with Abu to a goldsmith's in Kumasi, where it was assayed as gold.

Chief Inspector Jebuni said when they returned to Techiman, Ali demanded four million cedis from the farmers to purchase a bottle of Florida water with which to purify the pot before they could use the metals.

The farmers could only pay 1.9 million cedis, so the accused gave them the "pot of gold" but warned them not to tamper with it until it was purified.

On arrival at Tanoso, the complainants unwrapped the gold but found it to be different from the one tested at the goldsmith's.

Chief Inspector Jebuni said the farmers became suspicious and removed another piece of the yellowish metal from the pot and sent it to the same goldsmith in Kumasi who said it was iron.

The farmers reported the matter to the police.