Crime & Punishment of Thursday, 5 December 2024

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

GH¢4,000 missing, 31,000 returned after CCTV captured three teens stealing from supermarket

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CCTV footage of three children stealing GH¢ 35,000 from a supermarket in Takoradi has led police to recover GH¢ 31,000, but their mother remains unable to account for the remaining GH¢ 4,000.

The incident, according to 3news.com, occurred on December 2 when the children, aged 4, 10, and 16, entered the supermarket under the pretence of buying ice cream.

Footage shows the 10-year-old seizing an opportunity when a cashier stepped away, taking money from the shelf where the day's sales were stored.

After pocketing some of the cash, he returned with his siblings to retrieve a rubber bag, which they used to take the remaining money before leaving the store.

The supermarket staff discovered the theft when one of the cashiers noticed the missing funds and reported the issue to Kwaku Tando, a supplier who regularly works with the shop.

Tando is reported to have reviewed the CCTV footage, which captured the children in school uniforms committing the act.

"We saw the 10-year-old go straight to the cash shelf while his siblings distracted attention by pretending to buy ice cream. After filling his pocket, he went out to get a rubber bag, returned, and took everything," Tando explained.

Using the school crest on the children's uniforms, he identified the 16-year-old, a first-year student at a senior high school in Sekondi Takoradi.

She later led him to her siblings' school, where all three admitted to the theft and revealed they had given the money to their mother, a trader.

The police arrested the mother, who claimed she received the money while at the market but could not account for the missing GH¢ 4,000.

She returned GH¢31,000, which is now in police custody.

The manager of the supermarket, while confirming the incident to Connect FM, declined to comment on the record.

He stated that the supermarket would only accept the money once the full amount was recovered.

AM/KA

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