by Joe Pompeo
Few hoi polloi can tell you what Ghanaian super - sleuth newsperson Anas Aremeyaw Anas looks like . “ I ’m sorry , ” he apologize to an hearing during a2013 TED talk , utter through a masquerade . “ I can not show you my facial expression . If I do , the speculative guys will come at me . ” Those bad guys are numerous : For over a decade , the internationally - acclaim diarist has made it his mission to expose all stripes of felon , from seedy outlaws to stooping cops to rotten public servants . What ’s more unbelievable is how he ’s done it — with imaginative ruses and elaborate camouflage that make James Bond ’s adventures seem snoozy by comparison . We ’ve collected a few of his most memorable busts , along with tip on how he pulled them off , here .
1. A Peanut Hawker
After clear his arcdegree from the Ghana Institute of Journalism , Anas landed a lance at The Crusading Guide paper in 1999 . His first scoop staunch from a simple question : If street Stephen William Hawking is illegal in the metropolis of Accra , why was it so rearing along one of its busiest motorways ? The answer lay in a popular goober pea snack called Nkatie Burger . Anas posture as a pitchman , hustling the treat to motorists stuck in dealings . In the operation , he learned that pig were taking bribe from the hawkers . After seven day of reporting , he had his validation , and his story . AtTED , he reflect on that first assignment . “ I thought that I should do it in a dissimilar way , ” he pronounce , “ so that it has maximal encroachment . ” The statement more or less sums up his life history .
2. A Rock
Anas as a rock , courtesy of James Mollison
Of Anas ’s many faces , there ’s one in which he does n’t have a face at all — just two small eyeholes slew into what see like an tremendous , scrunch up newspaper publisher handbag . Silly ? possibly . But his impression of a giant rock is also effective : In 2010 , Anas used the disguise near a border Charles William Post at the Ghana - Côte d’Ivoire crossing to spy on trucks from the roadside . As it grow out , the trucks were smuggle cocoa beans across the perimeter . Anas ’s theme helped the constabulary build up a rock-and-roll - solid case .
3. A Cop
Anas as a policeman , good manners of James Mollison
Anas is have sex to collaborate with police ( a method acting that would make his journalism controversial by American standards ) . He ’s also been known to impersonate them . When he went after customs corruption at Ghana ’s Port of Tema , he dressed in a obscure blue uniform with pants tucked into combat boot , a walkie - talking picture , and aviator shades . ana played the part perfectly , witness how customs police officer were assist the smugglers inside the nation ’s lead haven . The report led officials to recover $ 200 million in lost state funds .
4. A Parent with a (Fake) Baby
Anas ' simulated infant prop , good manners of James Mollison
Some communities in Ghana believe that deformed or disabled children are possessed by evil spirit . The families of these “ disembodied spirit children , ” seek out “ concoction homo ” to diagnose the so - call in iniquity lurking within . In cases where the evil is “ confirm , ” they brew poison , force feed it to the small fry , and obliterate them . Anas hired one such concoction man to kill a sham nestling . To wait on with the coverage , one of Anas ’s colleagues agreed to countenance him apply her 18 - calendar month - old son as a outdoor stage - in . A concoction man examined the boy , and , at the last moment , Anas swapped the human sister out for a silent person . The simulacra was made by a London - based movie props company . It was so natural , the concoction man did n’t realize he was being handed a fleshy slab of silicone . The next thing on his hands ? Cuffs .
5. An Assembly Line Worker
One of Anas ’s hits , in 2006 , took him into a cooky manufactory in Accra , where he posed as an assembly logical argument worker to scupper the filthy conditions there . It was a tummy - turning assignment , and his signature hidden camera caught it all . As a report in Africa’sZAM magazineput it , Anas filmed “ puke roaming freely in and around the food for thought . ” He also got shots of the cookie company using flour that was invade with maggots and termites . Most important , he acquire results : The factory was keep out down .
6. An Oil Rig Worker
Sometime around the starting time of 2014 , Anas got a tip from Interpol about missing Vietnamese women sell into sex trafficking . Enter John Sullivan , an American oil fishing gear actor ( who was really Anas in disguise ) . Along with an Arab fellow worker masked as a Jordanian rock oil magnate , “ Sullivan ” sought divine service from the women . Once he got their pandar to provide them up , the police force hiding nearby swoop in . short thereafter , the Formosan subject behind the prostitution ring were arrested .
7. A Sheikh
Anas as a sheik , good manners of James Mollison
8. A Woman
Anas as a cleaning woman , good manners of James Mollison
9. A Homeless Man
Anas as a stateless gentleman , good manners of James Mollison
