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Mercy360 Blog of Wednesday, 29 January 2025

Source: Mercy Mensah

Two soldiers sentenced to ten years apiece for robbery and kidnapping

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Two soldiers were sentenced to ten years of hard labor each by the Asante Bekwai Circuit Court for kidnapping and stealing GH₵96,500.00 from a small-scale miner.

Alfred Mensah, a 33-year-old Air Force Lance Corporal (LAC), and Matthew Amoako, a 28-year-old LAC, denied planning to rob and abduct Mr. Andrews Asante. After a thorough trial, they were convicted.

Only Frimpong, Francis, and Francis Acheampong (41, a driver) have been identified as their accomplices; the other three are still at large.

Speaking to the court, which was presided over by Mr. Isaac Appeatu, Detective Chief Inspector Eric Twum explained that the complainant, Mr. Asante, is a small-scale miner who lives in the Asiwa suburb of Ametubuom. Both Mensah and Amoako were on a training in Accra at the time, but they are Air Force officers with bases in Tamale and Accra, respectively.

Frimpong and Francis, who were Kumasi-based military soldiers, are still at large, while the driver, Acheampong, was employed by an Accra-based car-rental company.

According to the prosecution, Acheampong met the troops on November 25, 2023, and guided them to the secretary of his firm after learning that they were embarking on a robbery operation. After renting a Mitsubishi Pajero (registration number GS 3236-17), Acheampong was given the task of operating it for the expedition.

They left Accra at about 1400 hours and arrived at Konongo, where they picked Francis up. The group, which was dressed in military uniform, traveled to Ametubuom and reached Mr. Asante's house at around 01:30.

At first, Asante resisted the gang's cries for him to come out because he was afraid for his life. After his wife called for assistance after they attacked his friend Kwabena, Asante finally came out. After forcing him back inside, the prisoners thrashed him and demanded GH₵400,000.00 in exchange for his release.

Asante didn't have that much, but he borrowed GH₵10,000.00 from his mother-in-law and gave it to the gang because he was afraid for his life. But the bandits kept beating him and kept asking for more cash. An extra GH₵20,000.00 was given by the mother-in-law and was wrapped in a black polythene bag.

The group took GH₵15,000.00 from Asante's room after searching hers and found GH₵40,000.00. In order to stop Kwabena from pursuing them, they also confiscated GH₵7,000.00 from him along with the ignition key for his motorcycle.

Asante was shoved violently into the gang's car, and Mensah stole another GH₵4,500.00 from his pocket. They took away GH₵96,500.00 in total.

When the police tried to stop the car after being alerted, the criminals disregarded their signals and drove away. The criminals persisted until they came to a broken bridge near Anwiam, despite the police shooting at the car. They were unable to pass, so they left the car and ran away with their hostage.

Mensah and Amoako arrived in Anumso Town at approximately 0430 hours in search of a getaway car. Locals arrested them and turned them over to the police. Francis and Frimpong left the complaint and rushed into the jungle after learning that their accomplices had been apprehended.

Following their capture, the two soldiers confessed to their crimes and identified their co-conspirators. They also disclosed that the town's citizens had taken the stolen funds before catching them. Later, the complainant's walking aid, Kwabena's motorcycle ignition key, and one piece of body armor were found in the forest hideout.




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