“DVLA Electronic Web Portal Breach: Two Arrested for Illegal Access”

Two individuals, Delali Yevu and Sabastian Donne, have been arrested and charged with unlawfully accessing electronic records of the Drivers, Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA) on its online portal. They allegedly charged drivers GHC200 each to authenticate their driver’s licenses, instead of the approved GHC471 set by the authority.

Yevu, a 42-year-old software developer, and Donne, a 32-year-old heavy-duty machine operator, were arrested after the DVLA discovered their illegal activities at the offices of Moove Ghana Limited at Kanda in Accra. The two are facing charges of conspiracy to commit crime, unauthorized access to computer programs or electronic records of the DVLA, and defrauding by false pretenses.

Kwaku Torgbo Wise Dziedzorm, a 38-year-old Sales and onboarding Manager, is also in the dock for allegedly assisting Yevu and Donne in defrauding two individuals, Francis Kwaku Pinamang and Freeman Moses Ankomah, of GHC200 and GHC185, respectively.

According to the prosecution, Yevu pretended to be an officer of the DVLA and collected the money from the victims to authenticate their driver’s licenses. The accused were arrested when the DVLA had wind of their activities and conducted an intelligence-led investigation.

Yevu, Donne, and Dziedzorm have pleaded not guilty to their respective charges, but the court has remanded them into police custody. The prosecution opposed the grant of bail, arguing that the accused would jeopardize police investigations if released.

The court has adjourned the case to July 24, 2024, for the Case Management Conference and directed the prosecution to expedite investigations and furnish it with disclosures and witness statements. The prosecution said that the police suspected there were other conspirators who had yet to be arrested and that they would amend the charges preferred against the accused.