Crime & Punishment of Thursday, 7 August 2014

Source: GNA

Three in court for robbery

Three persons were on Wednesday arraigned at an Accra Circuit Court for conspiracy to commit crime, robbery and causing harm.

Mamoud Amadu, Jalilu Masawudu and Ibrahim Musa were said to have conspired and robbed two persons of separate items and caused harm to one of them. The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges but were remanded by the court presided over by Mr Francis Obiri to reappear on August 11.

Prosecuting Deputy Superintendent of Police Patrick Morkeh told the court that the complainant is one Alhaji Adam Ahmed, the Managing Director of P.L Forex Bureau located at Dzorwulu, while the accused persons are residents of Kasoa.

He said on January 26, 2013 at about 0830 hours the accused persons in the company of their group leader one Atukwei now deceased and armed with pistols entered the complainant’s forex bureau.

He said amidst threats of death, the accused persons subjected the four workers on duty to severe beatings and robbed the bureau of £ 3,000, $ 108,000 and US$ 29,000 at gun point.

DSP Morkeh told the court during the course of the robbery that an Egyptian Diplomat in Ghana by name Mustapha Fouad Abdul Hassan entered the bureau and they ordered him to handover all the monies on him but he initially resisted.

He said his action infuriated the accused person and they shot him in the leg and arms and robbed him of $ 1,000 and bolted. The prosecution said on February 5, 2013, Mamoud and Jalilu were arrested at Achimota in connection with another robbery when their victims at the Bureau identified them.

He said when the police conducted a search in the room of Mamoud, at Achimota, GH¢ 24, 070.00, 660 Euros, £ 1,110, 20 Canadian dollars and US$ 7,485, two foreign made pistols, one pump action gun, two locally made pistols and quantities of live ammunition, one big metal cutter and one 24 inch plasma TV were found.

DSP Morkeh said Mamoud admitted the offence and mentioned Jalilu, Ibrahim and Atukwei who recently died in a shootout with police at Akim Oda as his accomplices.

He said Mamoud also stated that the GH¢ 2, 000.00 found in his room belonged to Jalilu but Ibrahim escaped with his booty to an unknown location. The prosecution told the court that on July 26, 2014 the police had information about the arrest of Ibrahim at Kasoa in another robbery attack.

He said the regional Police Command dispatched a team of detectives to Kasoa, and they brought Ibrahim to Accra for investigations.