Twelve years ago while I was in Jakarta on business, I received a phone call from a friend of mine from Acra, Ghana telling me that he stumbled upon something I might be interested in investigating.
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Six months later I arrived to Acra, met my friend, started my preliminary interviewing and asked him to start detailing to me what exactly I am supposed to be investigating.
My friend was an intellect and of privileged educational background, he was well spoken and affluent in English and a well connected Ghanaian businessman.
At first when he started detailing to me what he witnessed with his own eyes I frankly did not believe what I have heard, or perhaps I did not want to believe at the time, I guess I was a bit naive and stunned with what he witnessed. My first reaction was a doubtful gaze into his eyes only to see before me even more dazzled facial features than mine.
Eventually, he suggested to take me there and show me the whole operation in person, my curiosity wouldn’t let me hesitate for one moment to immediately accept his generous offer, and we set up a meeting with his people claiming that I might be able to get them what they need to resume their operation since I am into investigating these strange events and I am internationally well connected.
His people accepted and gave us date to meet them within three days, those three days were of the longest days I have spent waiting in my life, I was so excited and couldn’t wait even for my second breath. But anyway, waiting was inevitable but not without so many doubtful thoughts jumping into my head right and left. Third day came and the time for truth was due, I was supposed to be picked up from my hotel at 10 am. But if you are familiar with Acra, you would certainly know that this is not going to happen. For, in Acra much as in all of Africa time has another perception, they simply have the time of the world on their side.
I took my early lunch out of boredom that day, since I was about to have an anxiety attack with increasing dose of graver doubts about the whole purpose of my going to Acra from the beginning.
Suddenly, at almost 3 pm. My friend arrived, he actually did not have to search for me for long since I was eagerly awaiting him at the lobby beside the swimming pool having my cold soda drink chilling out on an unusually steamy, hot and humid day.
Allas, at last you have arrived, what happened I questioned grimly wondering, he gave me this shining teeth smile easing my nerves, informing me to get up and let’s go, some people are waiting to pick us up half way.
Off we went, he drove his car for almost an hour till we arrived to some where I have never known it even existed in Acra, and it was a remote outback of the city. I saw another car waiting for us off the road and my friend nodded to me his head confirming that they were our ride.
We went out of his car and jumped speedily into the other car not knowing where our next destination would lead to. In the front sat beside the driver a big and silent man, he and the driver were stalking me with their eyes and they seem to have wanted to eye fold me, since they were speaking I local dialect I was not familiar with, my friend was exchanging some words with them and he seem to have succeeded in persuading them that there was no need and I may be trusted by them.
Our real journey started on a very rugged bumpy off road in the middle of nowhere, it was fishy but very exciting, the deeper we went into the woods the more the trip looked like an adventure movie of some sort. And at last there were a village we could see ahead of us, on the way to the village there was this dead corps of a goat all swollen up ready to blow with a very distinctive smell of death surrounding it, so strong it managed to penetrate our car with its closed windows and air condition running though. Poor goat must have been bitten by malaria mosquito,(the malaria almost took my life once, in Acra, it put me in coma, I was literally in lala land for three days in hospital) just kidding, probably a snake.
After we passed the village we could see a villa emerging to our sight range at the outskirts of the village. An impressive villa out of nowhere, wow! Interesting combination makes one wonders what he is going to face next.
At last, we arrived, and as one would expect, that specific villa was actually our final destination.
We parked our car and met a huge guy at the door; he greeted us by nodding and refrained from any sort of vocal communication. He ushered us into the villa where we were received by another couple of huge men with a third older man slightly smaller in size but with a very commanding, demanding body language.
Aha, no wonder, this third person was actually a retired army General and the rest of the crew was actually his personal bodyguards. Ok, now I got the message, but it is no longer that comforting, I mean being stuck in a foreign land in the middle of nowhere amongst x-military hord with a dead stinking corpse of a goad barracking our way depositing a lingering foul smell in our nozzles, is not a very soothing experience when one considers the not very smooth ride we just took.
Surprisingly the Mon General was very discrete and gentle with us. He did not talk much; I guess he wasn’t used to much talking in his previous career. He invited us to take our seats and commanded two of his bodyguards to bring a certain thing from the other room.
My eyes were by now as open as an eagle eyes would be. I was tracing them like a hawk would vertically scope follow his prey, I was waiting for a scam, and was anticipating all kinds of things, so I was really vigilant and on my toes.
The two huge guys came out of the room carrying a box that looked like a post office box, each one carried one side, oh boy, what have we here, I whispered. I swung my head and zoomed in toward what looked like a very satisfied, self content General, sitting with his right leg resting on the right arm of his armchair. He stood up slowly and moved towards the box which was locked with a paddle lock. He grabbed a key out of his pocket and unlocked it, the box was stacked from end to end with what I know as money packs wrapped in brownish waxed papers, the packs were all totally sealed and unhampered with and by no way spoilt in any shape or form. The General then asked one of his bodyguards to bring him a knife and a fork, and I got even more anxious now, said to myself, hmm, looks like there is going to be some sort of sacrificial ceremony, wonder who is going to be the sacrifice… (Just joking).
The General randomly slashed the knife into one of the packs opening it while still in the metal box, He then grabbed several of what looked like a bank note papers from the pack, and the color of the bank note like papers was totally black. This is very exciting, I was watching with my eyes fully opened and dazed to that experience. He then took out of his pocket a very tiny bottle within it one quarter of some liquid I have no idea what it was. Then, he ordered a plate, now with the plate request I started putting it together trying to figure out what on earth is he going to do with a knife, a fork and a plate, and what is that thing in that tiny bottle, could it be spicing liquid for a starchy meal. No thanks, I am not that hungry, I thought to myself.
Now during all of these events the General did not utter a word, deadly silent operation it was.
He “the General” ordered some water they got for him in an empty one liter plastic water bottle. He poured some of that water in the plate and then added some of that secret solution he had in the tiny bottle, then he took six black paper notes and placed it in the plate while soaking it in the water using the fork and he was careful not to accidently touch the water solution. I tell you, I was staring at the plate and watching the whole process like I was gazing into a crystal ball, then the General stood aside and shortly chatted with my friend waiting for ten minutes he exclaimed till things become ready, after five minutes or so the color of black started fading from the paper notes and gradually it started developing into guess what? Well you guessed it. It was dollar bills, yes, a One hundred dollar bills. I tell you this thing got me more excited than watching the first Indiana Jones and the lost Ark of the Covenant movie.
By now, I was tummy talking to myself asking what I have got myself into, what they are expecting from me to do.
Well I did not have to wait for long for the answer, The General broke the deadly silence and asked me if I would like to inspect it, lucky me, due to my background I am very familiar with dollar notes and it is not really easy to fool me with a fake one since my family was in the banking business and our family establishment was appointed and acknowledged by central bank of my country to check forged dollars in my town for many years…
The dollar notes were totally genuine and after they dried it by a fan they attach the notes to it to dry, I checked it personally and it was genuine bank notes, more than that, it was brand new with sequencing serial numbers, I nodded my head acknowledging to the General that its genuine, and the general sat back into his armchair and paused himself for a serious question, I held my breath waiting to hear his request. He said to me, dear Mr. Adam, we have around 30 million of this dollar and we are out of solution of which we cannot develop our notes without, we are searching for the source of this solution and our mutual friend informed us you may be the one who can locate the supplier.
I thought very carefully before I answered, but eventually I needed to answer and it would be very embarrassing to have a negative answer. So, I start by asking the General consent for keeping a sample of the solution and the money with me, the General was kind enough to give me all of the six pieces as a sample but explained that the solution is very valuable to him and he simply cannot afford to spare any tiny drop of it., I understood of course, I mean, after what I saw, I wouldn’t do otherwise myself.
I frankly answered the General that I do not know of any immediate supplier for that solution and I do not even know what is its composition, but I do know many people around the world and many scientists from all walks of life, and that I would do my best to locate a supplier for him and promised to keep him updated through our mutual friend.
I was led back to our ride and resumed our journey back to the hotel, I left Acra the very next day with so much on my mind, and I was totally charged with an intention to know more about this case, find the solution, even make some good money, since the General offered to invest some of his millions in any project I choose if I successfully got him the solution.
And the ordeal started.
What happened next was an ordeal, a test of faith to me.
I spent so many years searching for the truth and searching for that magical solution, but to my avail, I failed, mind you I do not take much pleasure into accepting failure…
After this solo genuine incident, I spent several years searching for the truth behind it and stumbled upon crooks of all levels the lousy and the really professional ones, but I never found the name of that solution. Thought it condoled me to fall upon a story told to me by one anonymous source, that the origin of that money was several intelligence agencies who use this money to fund their underground operations, being coupes, insurgencies, secret wars and all kinds of dirty business that they avoid using traceable money in funding!
Who am I to say No.
Having said that, the fact that I was aware of a genuine case like the one I experienced in Ghana made me infact much more tolerant to whatever scams I faced afterwards. It cost me a lot of time and money searching for the truth, but all of what I came up with was scams, crooks, more scams and crooks, some of the events I witnessed were comical, some other were very dramatic, I met hundreds of people who fell victims for international crooks, some of those previous victims became crooks themselves after they found out they were simply framed, some lost their homes and businesses trying to chase that wild dream, some lost their best friends. Many ended up in jail, many others got killed, yet, the story still lingers, and it is still very much alive all over the world.
Hundreds claim they have the black notes, heck some even claim there are different kinds of it, and different currencies and colors, on the other hand, many claim to have the magical liquid and the drama goes on, while the only truth I personally can budge for is that I was lucky to witness one genuine operation performed before my naked eyes while the rest were scams.
Be careful out there, do not fall a victim for chasing wild geese, and keep your feet on the ground where treading is more stable.
Adam El Masri
