Tamale (Northern Region), 2nd July 99 --

The Tamale Police are investigating a case in which 10 bundles of roofing sheets suspected to have been stolen from the stores of the Northern Regional National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) were offered for sale on the open market.

Mr Mohammed Yakubu Alhassan, storekeeper of ABA Construction Limited, a local construction firm, to whom the roofing sheets were allegedly offered for sale, alerted the Police.

Speaking to the GNA, Mr Alhassan called for a thorough check of the stocks of relief goods in the NADMO stores, because he suspected the items were stolen from there.

Mr Alhassan said, he became suspicious when the sellers quoted a price far below the prevailing market price.

He said while in his store in the afternoon of Sunday, June 27, two people came with a truck and offered to sell 10 bundles of roofing sheets to him.

"They offered each packet for 165,000 cedis. The prevailing market price is 200,000 cedis."

"I feigned interest in the transaction and asked them to unload them, while I went out to fetch the money''.

Mr Alhassan said he made a report to the Deputy Regional Police Commander, who sent Policemen to arrest the suspects, but one of them managed to escape.

A spokesman for the Regional Crime office confirmed that they are investigating the matter but declined to give details.

Officials of NADMO were also tight-lipped. They would neither confirm nor deny the theft.

GRi?/