Crime & Punishment of Thursday, 31 October 2013

Source: GNA

Two remanded for robbery

An Accra Circuit Court on Wednesday remanded Mustapha Awudu, a vulganizer and Abdulai Alhassan, a scrap dealer, into prison custody for conspiracy to rob and robbery.

The accused persons pleaded not guilty to all the charges and would re-appear on November 11.

Madam Dorcas Oti, Assistant State Attorney, told the court presided over by Mr Francis Obiri that on May 8, 2012, at about 0300 hours, the third accused person (Sly) who is at large led Mustapha and Abdulai to the complainant’s house at Okponglo.

She said the first and second accused persons entered the complainant’s room and threatened him with a pistol.

“The two men demanded money from the complainant but he told them he did not have money and they took away his two mobile phones,” she said.

The prosecution said at about 0350 hours the same day, a team of policemen who were on patrol on the Accra–Tema Motorway stopped a 207 Mercedes Benz with registration No. GW 5883 Z which was heading towards Tema.

She said when the policemen began to search the bus, the accused persons, who were on board, threw away a black polythene bag.

Madam Oti said the driver of the bus got down and picked the bag and handed it over to the police and when the polythene was open, it contained one locally manufacture pistol, three AA live cartridges, two pair of scissors, one screw driver, one cutter, two kitchen knives, one T-shirt and Ghc367.00.

She said the accused persons admitted ownership of the polythene bag and were immediately arrested.

She said Sly escaped when the search was being conducted.

“The complainant later identified the two accused persons as well as the two mobile phones they stole from him at the Police Headquarters,” Mad Oti said.