Former Black Stars midfielder, Derek Boateng, was arrested by police earlier this week after flouting traffic regulations in Accra.
This emerged after the Accra Metropolitan Assembly [AMA] published footage of the incident.
The former Fulham and Getafe midfielder was among the 35 drivers including security officers who were arrested during a speed enforcement exercise by the Accra Central Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service in collaboration with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) on the Olusegun Obasanjo Way and J. A. Kufuor Avenue in Accra.
The video showed Boateng trying to plead his case with the officers, who refused to listen.
The arresting officer, who was unwilling to listen to the player’s appeals, told him that there would be no “selective justice.”
Boateng then directed his pleas to the Accra Mayor, Mohammed Adjei Sowah, who was there to observe the proceedings.
The mayor can, however, be heard telling Boateng that he had no jurisdiction there and could not direct the police to let him leave.
The Police on duty did not listen to his pleas of “being a national asset” and insisted that he drove his black Range Rover Sport vehicle to the Nima Police Station.
Upset with how he was being treated, Boateng said: “I’m a national asset so I cannot run [away].”
“But the way you guys are treating me, it’s like I’m a stranger or something. I’m not going anywhere,” he added.
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Boateng was later seen re-entering his car and driving away after the MTTD officer also sat in the vehicle.
A number of the persons detained were driving at speeds above the 50 km/hr limit permitted in the city.
According to the AMA, 31 of the arrested drivers were later sent to the Nima Police Station and processed for court.
The 31 drivers were fined between GHS480 to GHS660 amounting to GH8,460, whilst four are still pending before the court, although it was not stated whether the former Black Stars player had already been sentenced.
Boateng played over 40 times for the Black Stars and was selected in Ghana’s squads for the 2006 and 2010 World Cup tournaments.
He scored a goal for the country.
He also went on to play for 13 European clubs including Panathinaikos, FC Cologne and Beitar Jerusalem after his youth career with Accra-based Liberty Professionals.