Mpraeso, May 27, GNA - Three suspected armed robbers including two brothers, who tried to bribe the Mpraeso District Police Commander with an amount of GH¢1,500 during investigations into their case, were on Friday put before the Mpraeso Circuit Court presided over by Mr Kwaku Osei. The suspected armed robbers were also found to possess counterfeit currencies.

They include Mohammed Jabre (alias Longman), Yakubu Mohammed and Issah Haruna, all farmers. They are facing charges of attempted armed robbery, bribery, threatening and possessing counterfeit currencies without authority. They were granted GH¢10,000 bail each with one surety to be justified to re-appear before the court on June 20.

Prosecuting, Detective Inspector Christian Apronti told the court that on May 11, Jabre and his junior brother Yakubu Mohammed engaged the services of two bulldozer operators at Kwahu Tafo to use their machine to clear their newly acquired farmland at Kwahu Adawso.

He said the operators charged GH¢600, a drum of diesel and additional GH¢60 for the job.

The prosecutor said after finishing the work, the bulldozer was conveyed on another vehicle back to Kwahu Tafo. He said on their way back, some suspected armed robbers on board a KIA truck vehicle overtook them in the middle of the journey and blocked the road with sticks and stones ahead of them.

The prosecutor said when the bulldozer operators got to the area, their driver drove over the blockade and one of the suspected armed robbers shot at the vehicle but he missed. They quickly drove away and made a report to the Kwahu Tafo Police where Jabre, who was seen making series of telephone calls after paying the bulldozer operators, was invited and put before the Mpraeso District Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Sampson Okunor, for interrogation.

Detective Inspector Apronti said when a search was conducted on him, GH¢5 suspected to be counterfeit was found on him, but he denied being involved in the attempted armed robbery and later collected GH¢1,500 from his younger brother Mohammed and offered it to DSP Okunor to influence him to drop the alleged armed robbery case being investigated. He said the District Police Commander collected the money as an exhibit and later when a search was conducted on Mohammed, a GH¢50 and GH¢10 notes also suspected to be counterfeit were found on him and he was arrested.

The prosecutor said on May 15 while the bulldozer operators were working at the site at Kwahu Nkwatia, Haruna threatened to kill them for reporting to the police that Jabre and Mohammed were among the alleged attempted armed robbery on the two bulldozer operators. The suspected counterfeit notes had been sent to the Bank of Ghana for examination.