Accra, Aug. 23, GNA - A mason who broke into the offices of the Cocoa Marketing Board (CMB) and made away with 7.8 million cedis was on Tuesday jailed three years with hard labour by a Circuit Court in Accra. Patrick Mensah charged with unlawful entry, stealing, causing unlawful damage and assault pleaded guilty.

Police Chief Inspector Ben Darfour told the Court that the complainant was the Principal Security Officer of CMB; Accra while Mensah is an employee of AXXIS Construction Firm renovating the CMB building. Prosecution said the various offices had been experiencing series of theft including computers and all efforts to arrest the culprits had proved futile.

On July 28, this year, after employees of Axxis Construction had completed the day's work; Mensah hid himself in one of the offices on the sixth floor.

During the night, Mensah broke into 20 offices on the second, third, fifth and sixth floors and opened the sliding windows with a bread knife.

Chief Inspector Darfour said Mensah further broke into 25 desks drawers and stole monies totalling 7.89 million cedis but luck eluded him when the security officers arrested him with his booty. Mensah, however, engaged the security officers in a fierce fight and as a result bit the right thumb of Emmanuel Bukari and wounded Edmund Owusu on his forehead.

Prosecution said 1.5 million cedis was retrieved from Mensah