Two Cops arrested over sugar theft

Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Police Administration has arrested six persons, including two policemen, believed to belong to a group that allegedly intercepts articulated trucks carrying rice and sugar from the Tema port to various destinations in the country.
Lance Corporal Haruna Adama of the Armoured Squadron Unit and Lance Corporal Gomez Abane of the Police Striking Force, were arrested at the weekend together with their civilian accomplices and are currently in custody pending further investigations.
The others are William Tornyo, 30, Eric Ofori alias Amex, 26, Memunatu Iddrisu, 28, receiver of the items, and David Ahiavie, 34.
They were alleged to have intercepted an articulated truck, with registration number AW 744 X on September 7, 2007, carrying 1,000 bags of sugar worth ¢250 million. The police have retrieved 135 bags of the rice while the Golf Three, with registered number ER 1362 W, which they used for the operations, has been impounded.
The modus operandi of the group was to intercept the articulated truck and “arrest” all the occupants of the truck and leave behind one of their own “arresting” officers.
The one left behind is often a driver who would then drive the truck to an unknown destination for the cargo to be discharged after which the truck would be abandoned somewhere.
Until the arrest of the six, the police were investigating two similar cases which happened within the last two months.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Patrick K. Acheampong, has interdicted the two policemen and ordered a service enquiry into their conduct, the outcome of which is expected in seven days.
He pledged his commitment to purge the Ghana Police Service of criminals and appealed to members of the public who had suffered similar fate to report to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for assistance.
Mr Acheampong told the Daily Graphic that the Police Administration had been investigating a criminal gang including some policemen who for sometime now had been intercepting truckloads of rice and sugar between Tema and Kumasi.
He said the policemen would usually stop the truck, demand the documents covering the goods and inform the driver and the occupants of the truck that they had been arrested.
He said a member of the arresting team would be left behind to keep watch over the goods while the rest left with those arrested on the pretext of sending them to a police station.
Mr Acheampong said following the complaint lodged with him, he ordered the Organised Crime Unit, Crime Scene Unit, both of the CID, and the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau (PIPS) to jointly investigate the case.
“My brother, this is a bad case for the police and we have to send a signal to all that the Police Service is not a den for criminals,” he said.
According to the IGP, it was revealed that the group after intercepting and arresting the occupants of the truck at about 7 p.m. on September 7, 2007, took them to a spot near the El-Wak Sports Stadium then to Abeka, Kasoa and to Dansoman.
He said the occupants of the truck were released at about 6 a.m. on September 8, 2007 without any interrogation, caution or statement taken from them.
He explained that the investigators had to treat all personnel who had mounted checkpoints in the night as suspects and indicated that it was through such a thorough investigation that the police made a headway.
Mr Acheampong said he had asked the CID to prosecute the suspects as early as possible to serve as a deterrent to others.
He reiterated the appeal to anyone who had suffered a similar fate to report to the Organised Crime Unit on the fifth floor of the CID Headquarters for assistance.