Accra, Aug. 21, GNA - A three-member syndicate, including a woman, who stole valuables of passengers who boarded a taxi cab, on Tuesday appeared before an Accra Circuit Court charged with stealing. Ibrahim Mohammed, a trader, Rosemary Boateng, a hairdresser and Evans Appiah-Amponsah, a driver, are alleged to have used a taxi cab with registration number GT 51166 R to carry out their acts. Rosemary, Mohammed and Appiah-Amponsah have pleaded not guilty to stealing.

The prosecutor, Chief Inspector Victoria Azumah Baduanah said the three normally used the taxi to pick unsuspecting travellers to various destinations. On reaching a point where the passenger would alight they asked the passenger to open the door, but the accused persons under the pretext of assisting the passenger ended up stealing mobile phones, cameras, passports, certificates and monies. The court remanded them into police custody to re-appear on September 4.

Inspector Appiah-Amponsah said on July 26, this year, the accused persons on their normal operation took a passenger, Mr Opoku Agyeman from Dimples Junction to Achimota in Accra. She said when the complainant got to his destination and wanted to alight, he could not do so because the door had been locked by the central lock system. The Prosecutor said Rosemary and Imbrahim, who were with the victim at the back seat, pretended they were helping him to open the door but they stole his mobile phone and GH=A220 (200,000 cedis). She said two weeks later, the victim saw a publication of a story in the newspapers of the three being involved in similar offence and reported his experience to the police. Prosecutor Baduanah said the members of the syndicate, who had been in the business for four years, were arrested on August 1. 21 Aug. 21