A Tarkwa circuit court has sentenced a 28-year-old driver, Kingsley Ankomah, to five years imprisonment for stealing 300 bags of cocoa valued at Gh?61,500 belonging to Trans-Royal Cocoa Company Limited

He pleaded guilty.

Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Edward Paddy told the court presided over by Mr. Samuel Obeng Diawuo, that the convict was employed by Trans-Royal Cocoa Company Limited in October last year and was tasked to convey bags of cocoa from the various purchasing areas under the district to the company’s depot at Aboso.

He said the company’s depot at Layout, a suburb of Aboso, was full and the convict on one occasion was directed to convey the cocoa to the Aboso Nsueam Depot.

According to the Prosecutor, in February 2012, Ankomah suddenly left the company without any notification.

Authorities of the company within that same period Ankomah left checked from their records to find out that the number of cocoa bags he was supposed to transport from the various purchasing areas to the depots was short of 801 bags amounting to Gh?164,205.

Inspector Paddy said, the company did their own investigation to trace how the shortage came about but it yielded no result.

He said the case was then reported to the police and the convict was arrested as he was suspected to be behind the massive shortage because of the luxurious life he was living after quitting his former job.

The Prosecutor said when Ankomah was interrogated, he denied the offence but upon further search by the police, one Solomon Akwetey, a cocoa purchasing clerk at Wassa Nkran in the Prestea Huni/Valley District, was said to have received some of the stolen bags of cocoa.

Inspector Paddy said on April 3, 2012, both the convict and the suspect who is presently on the run were arranged before the District Commander of Tarkwa and they admitted committing the crime but pleaded for amicable settlement at home.**