Wa, (Upper West) --TWO brothers have been sentenced to a total of 12 years imprisonment by a Wa Circuit Court for operating a syndicate that burns high tension electric poles in order to steal the cables.

The two brothers, who are farmers at Cheregu village, near Wa, are Yusif Mumuni, 18, and Sanadu Mumuni, 36.

Yusif and Sanadu, who pleaded guilty to the charges of stealing and abetment of crime were, sentenced by the court, presided over by Alhaji Justice M. A. Mustapha, to eight years and four years imprisonment respectively.

Presenting the facts of the case to the court, Inspector Joseph Mantey said that for some time now, thieves have been stealing both low and high tension electric cables which have been installed by the Volta River Authority (VRA) for the provision of electricity to various communities in the Upper East Region.

Consequently, members of the security agencies were put on the alert so as to track down the perpetrators.

Inspector Mantey said on July 31, this year, Yusif was intercepted by personnel of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) at the Goil checkpoint with a fertiliser sack full of high tension electric cables and heading towards Wa.

The prosecutor said that, while the CEPS officials were interrogating Yusif, his elder brother, Sanadu, emerged from nowhere to plead with the officers for the release of his younger brother to enable them to trace other accomplices because he was aware of the incident.

The officers obliged and impounded the sack containing the cables but both accused persons went into hiding.

The CEPS officials immediately reported the matter to the police and with assistance from some members of the public, Yusif and Sanadu were arrested at their hide-out.