Felix Gabriel, a 32-year-old Nigerian squatter has appeared before an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly breaking into a storeroom and stealing floor tiles worth US$50,000.

Gabriel is said to have conspired with others to break into the said storeroom and loaded the stolen items unto some trucks to an unknown destination.

Charged with stealing, Gabriel, unemployed, pleaded not guilty.

The court presided over by Mrs Evelyn Asamoah admitted Gabriel to bail in the sum GHC450,000.00 with three sureties to be justified.

The court adjourned the matter to February 8 for Case Management Conference.

Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Emmanuel Haligah narrated that the complainant Nii Oten Granaky I, a chief of Abafum a suburb at La while the accused resides at San-box also at La in Accra.

Chief Inspector Haligah said about two months ago, the complainant packed quantities of floor tiles valued at $50,000.00 or cedi equivalent of GHC 340,000.00 under lock and key.

He said on September 8, last year, the complainant had a call from a witness in the case, who indicated that he saw the accused holding a padlock to the storeroom where the tiles had been packed.

The prosecution said the complainant rushed to the scene only to detect that the storeroom had been broken into and the tiles had been stolen.

The prosecution said accused was arrested and handed over to the Police.
He said during investigations Gabriel admitted the offence in his cautioned statement mentioned one Bright and Mohammed and two others now at large as the people who brought in KIA trucks to load the floor tiles.

The prosecution said investigations further revealed that the accused and his accomplices were squatters at where the complainant’s storeroom was located and took advantage of it and broke in.

The prosecution said the accused and the accomplices bought a new Padlock to lock the storeroom and in the process was arrested.

He said “accused however could not lead the Police to arrest his accomplices”.