A Circuit Court at Kyebi, the Municipal capital of Abuakwa South in the Eastern Region, presided over by Peter Oppong-Boahen, has sentenced two members of a notorious car snatching syndicate to a total of 90 years imprisonment.
The convicts, Yaw Gershon, 40, a driver, and Ali Suleiman, 38, a trader were sentenced to 45 years respectively for the offense of conspiracy to commit crime to wit robbery, and robbery contrary to sections 23(1) and 149 of the criminal offenses Act 1960(Act 29).
The prosecutor, Detective Amadu Abdul-Rauf, presenting the facts to the court said the complainant -Sackitey Joseph is a commercial driver in charge of a Toyota Hiace vehicle with registration number GT 5913-21 and lives at Nuaso near Odumase Krobo, while the first accused person, Yaw Gershon, is a driver and lives at Asiakwa, the second accused Ali Suleiman, is a trader who lives at Akyem Osino.
According to him, on February 28, 2022, at about 9:30 am, the complainant went to the spraying shop with a witness in the case Moses Tetteh to take a nap before resuming work.
Whilst there, Tettey told the driver that someone called him on phone to get him a commercial driver to pick up a family from Bunso to Somanya to attend a wedding ceremony.
The driver negotiated with the caller on phone and he made part payment of GHC 250 to buy fuel then directed him to pick him up at Bunso.
On reaching Bunso at about 9:30am the same day, a certain man approached the complainant and identified himself as the person he spoke to on phone.
He boarded the vehicle and directed the driver to a place around the dumping site at Asiakwa where his accomplices had laid an ambush.
The accused onboard the vehicle pointed a pistol at him and ordered him to stop the vehicle, which he obliged.
Five men armed with guns and cutlasses wearing face masks also emerged from the bush to attack and subject the driver to severe beatings and tied him with a rope.
He said they snatched the Toyota Hiace Vehicle, stole two mobile phones and cash of GHC1,200 from the driver, and bolted.
After being rescued, the driver reported the case to Police for investigation.
On March 5, 2022 at about 2:30 am, Yaw Gershon and Ali Suleiman were arrested at the Buipe Police checkpoint in the Savannah Region for robbing a driver of his vehicle at Teacher Mante near Nsawam in the Eastern Region using the same modus operandi.
The Police at Kyebi, upon hearing the arrest, went for the accused persons for further interrogation which established they were part of the syndicate that robbed and snatched the vehicle from the driver.
They were charged and put before the Kibi Circuit Court but pleaded not guilty to all counts, hence the case went to full trial for six months and the court found them guilty, hence the sentence.