Residents of Krodua, a community in the Awutu-Senya district of the Central Region have apprehended 15 individuals suspected of railway track theft.

The suspects were later handed over to the police for further investigation.

According to the leader of the community, they received information about the ongoing theft of railway tracks in their area. Acting swiftly, members of his Asafo group were dispatched to confirm the reports.

“We got the hint that some individuals have been stealing the railway track. On hearing this, I asked some of my Asafo group to go and have a look at it. Truly they confirmed that theft case. The police were also here to do their investigations. Later in the night after they had left at about 1 am, a blue tipper truck packed and loaded the steels away.

“We didn’t get the news on time but after we alerted the police that the thieves had come to load some of the railway tracks away. Yesterday, at about 6:30 p.m., we saw another KIA truck that also came to the area loaded with about 15 people. When I saw they numbered up to 15, I concluded that these guys were coming for an operation in this community. They didn’t pack anywhere else but right in front of the community palace,” he said.

He expressed his frustration at the rampant theft of railway tracks, highlighting that such actions not only disrupt community development but also pose challenges for the government when they need to repair or replace the tracks.

The community leader also criticised land allocation issues, where portions of land belonging to the railway authority were sold without consent.

“Now that they have to come to steal the tracks away, even if the government wants to come and fix them, they will come at another cost. You will always get a call from the railway authority coming up with letters that indicate that they have given portions of their land to someone. Any time they sell the land, they usually indicate that they are only putting a movable property on it, but before you realise it, they are putting up a building. When you complain, you get a phone call from Takoradi that they permitted them to use the land. But if the land belongs to the railway, it is not your personal property.

“You came for the land from the community, if you are no longer going using it for its intended purpose, come and tell us that the railway authority has collapsed so you are returning the land to the owners,” he added.

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Residents in Krodua have arrested 15 suspects and handed them over to the police for railway track theft#UTVNews pic.twitter.com/VuswMEat8B

— UTV Ghana (@utvghana) September 7, 2023