Takoradi, Aug. 26, GNA 97 Four armed robbers, who have been terrorizi= ng traders on the Enchi-Kumasi highways in the Western Region, have been sentenced to a total of 280 years, in hard labour, by a Takoradi Circuit court. The court on Friday sentenced each convict to 70 years imprisonment an= d would run concurrently.

They are Philip Buabeng (alias Allo), Kwasi Amoh (alias Bontia), Shaib= u Mumuni (alias Wahabu) and Ebenezer Animah Nachia (alias No lies). The convicts were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit crime and eight counts of robbery. They, however, pleaded not guilty but the court found them culpable after almost one-year trial and sentenced them accordingly. Presenting the facts of the case, the Western Regional Chief State Attorney, Madam Patricia Klininogo told the court, presided over by Mr Kwas= i Boakye that, the convicts are close friends residing at Enchi and Assankragwa respectively.

She said on November 1, 2010, in the early hours of the day, the robbers blocked a road near Yiwabire Nkwanta on the Enchi-Kumasi main. The robbers attacked traders in a Kia truck and a 2007 Benz bus and ordered them to lie down and collected their monies and mobile phones, with some of the victims sustaining minor injuries and traumatized. The robbers bolted into a cocoa farm to a nearby school park to share their booty.

The prosecutor said the victims reported the robbery to the Enchi Police Station and police investigations led to the arrest of Philip Buabeng, with his share of the booty amounting to GH1, 400 on him. She said Buabeng then mentioned his three other accomplices as Amoh, Mumuni and Nachia and subsequently led the police to their hideout. A police search of their homes, retrieved one television set, one vide= o deck, one live ammunition and GHC662, being their share of the proceeds fro= m the robbery, which the judge ordered be paid into the Consolidated fund. Some of the victims, who testified in court said they lost various sum= s of monies, mobile phones and personal effects during the robbery. Pronouncing judgment, the presiding judge, Mr kwasi Boakye said he too= k into consideration the 10 witnesses, who testified in court and the confession of Buabeng. He described the convicts as young men full of energies, which can be used judiciously in prison, describing the robbery as most reprehensible an= d diabolical. He said 93the youth nowadays want to reap where they have not sown, saying the court would punish them severely when found culpable. "These armed robbers are a danger and threat to society and must not= be entertained", he added.