Crime & Punishment of Thursday, 5 April 2012

Source: GNA

Car thief jailed 10 years

Koudzo Ametepe, 25, a Togolese house help arrested by the Aflao Police in possession of his Nigerian master’s stolen Toyota Saloon car, has been jailed 10 years by an Aflao Circuit Court.

Ametepe pleaded not guilty to possession of a stolen car.

Ametepe’s accomplice house-help, Darius Agbla, 26, also a Togolese, is on the run.

Mr Stephen Wuni, a Detective Police Inspector at Aflao told the court that

Ametepe and Agbla were employed as house-helps in Nigeria by Dr Furi Oduaran, a Lagos based businessman, three years ago.

He said on March 4, the two conspired and stole Dr Oduaran’s brand-new Toyota Tundra saloon car LSR 437-AC and drove it Lome, Togo to sell but could not get a buyer.

Mr Wuni said the two crossed over to Aflao with the car in an attempt to sell it but on March 20, the suspicion of a police patrol team was aroused on seeing the car in an area called Beat Nine, intercepted it and arrested Ametepe who was then in the car.

He said Ametepe confessed to his crime and provided the police with Dr Oduaran’s cell phone number.

Ametepe broke down in tears pleading for forgiveness when he came face to face with Dr Oduaran at court but said he would not change his plea of not guilty to guilty.**