Crime & Punishment of Tuesday, 21 September 2010

Source: GNA

Four armed robbers who tried to snatch a pickup arrested.

Koforidua, Sept 21, GNA- Four suspected armed robbers who attempted to snatch a Toyota Hilux pickup, GT 2166Z at gunpoint at Nsawam have been arrested by the Eastern Regional Police command.

The four suspects included Mohammed Seidu, 28, Francis Adjei 30, Kwadwo Bismark 22 and Isaac Kofi Arthur 27.

At the time of the incidence, the vehicle was being driven by Mr. Kwaku Braimah who had travelled from Bolgatanga with two relatives of his employer for a funeral at Nsawam.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Ransford Moses Ninson, Eastern Regional Commander, who briefed the media said on September 18, this year, around 8.pm, the driver sent his employer's relatives from the funeral grounds to the house and was returning to pick another group of persons.

He said on reaching a rough portion of the road he slowed down for smooth steering and to his surprise, two of the suspected robbers who were later identified as Mohamed Seidu and Francis Adjei stopped him at gunpoint as one of them quickly moved his side and engaged his in a struggle for his mobile phone ignition key.

DCOP Ninson a taxi approached the scene and stopped for two persons, Kwadwo Bismark and Isaac Arthur to alight and quickly sped off but they were not fast enough to join the vehicle so the two other robbers sped off and left them behind.

According to the regional commander, when the victim saw the vehicle being taken away, he jumped into the bucket of the pick-up and shouted at the top of his voice that "armed robbers are taking my vehicle away".

He said the robbers who were heading towards the Aburi were given a chase by the police and some residents at Obodan who had mobilized themselves into an Urvan bus.

The robbers took to an unpaved road but the unyielding driver stuck to his strategy; shouting from the bucket.

DCOP Ninson said about a kilometre away on the untarred and muddy road, the helix pick-up skidded off the road into the bush and the two robbers abandoned the vehicle and fled into the bush before the police could arrest them.

The victim; Braimah, who had taken cover in the bush as well, came out when the police and the citizens arrived moments later and brought the vehicle to the Nsawam police station. According to the Regional Commander, a search by the police and the residents resulted in the arrest of Mohamed Seidu and Francis Adjei whiles the two who were left behind were arrested at the crime scene. He said during a search on them at the police station, three mobile phones of which one was identified by the driver as the one snatched from him and an amount of 1, 850 Ghana Cedis were found but the pistol allegedly used for the robbery could not be recovered. DCOP Ninson commended the citizens of Obodan who assisted the police to arrest the armed robbers and appealed to the general public to be vigilant and patriotic in assisting the police to combat such robberies.