Tarkwa(W/R), July 17, GNA - A Tarkwa Circuit court has sentenced Baba Musah a mechanic and Gilbert Yankey unemployed to 36 years imprisonment in hard labour on their own plea for unlawful entry, causing damage to three padlocks and stealing.

However, they pleaded not guilty to possessing locally manufactured pistols and three live cartridges without authority and would reappear on Wednesday July 26.

A third accused, Ebo Kwabena a designer, pleaded not guilty to all the four counts and was remanded in prison custody to reappear on the same day.

The court presided over by Mr. Justice John Ajet-Nassam, sentenced Musah to 24 years imprisonment and Yankey to 12 years imprisonment. Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Joseph Apaloo, told the court that the complainant Mr James Ewusie is a trader and a barkeeper at Dziwufiasem a suburb of Tarkwa, while the accused persons were residents of Agona-Nkwanta near Takoradi.

He said on June 29, this year, the complainant found his store at Estate Junction, Tamso a suburb of Tarkwa broken into and three padlocks valued at 120,000 cedis damaged and items worth 16.9 million cedis stolen.

They included electronic gadgets, 11 pairs of jeans trousers and a Nokia cell phone.

The prosecution said the complainant lodged a complaint with the Nsuta police and on July 12, the police acting upon a tip-off went to Agona Nkwanta and arrested Musah and Ebo with some of the stolen items. He said the accused mentioned Yankey as a member of the stealing syndicate operating between Agona Nkwanta and Tarkwa and when Yankey was searched a locally manufactured pistol with three live cartridges were found on him.

The prosecutor said Yankey mentioned Musah as the owner of the pistol, while Musah and Ebo mentioned one Abeka a second-hands dealer in electronic gadgets at Agona Nkwanta as the persons who received stolen electronic gadgets.

He said Abeka was on the run while three of the wristwatches stolen from the complainant's store were found on Musah and Ebo and after investigations charged with the offence.