Nine robberies recorded December 24-30

Page 30: Daily Graphic, January 4, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THERE were nine robberies between December 24 and December 30, 2009 in the Accra and Brong Ahafo regions.
There were also three disasters, made up of one suspected murder and two fire outbreaks within the same period.
Out of the robbery cases, two were car-snatching incidents, one street robbery, one highway and three residential robberies, with Accra registering eight of the cases.
Five of the robbery cases took place on Boxing Day, between the hours of 12 midnight and 8:30am.
Reviewing the crime situation within the Yuletide with the Daily Graphic, the Deputy Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Cephas Arthur, said at about 6:30pm on December 24, 2009, three young men, armed with locally made pistols attacked Mr Eric Gerbs at the Pantang Junction and took away his Mitsubishi pick-up with registration number GT 1744 Z.
He said the robbers also collected the victim’s GH¢1,100 and one carton of pineapple juice.
He said on Boxing Day at about 12:05am, three armed robbers attacked a Lebanese at his residence at Agyiri-Ganor and robbed him of GH¢1,200, four mobile phones and four laptops.
ASP Arthur said at about 1am on the same day, six armed men attacked a businesswoman at Channel V, Nungua and took away GH¢1,200 from her residence, broke into her stores and robbed her of an unspecified amount, being her daily sales and assorted mobile phone cards, all valued at GH¢50,000.
According to him, one person, identified as Michael Akuffo, had been arrested on suspicion of being part of the gang that robbed the woman.
ASP Arthur said three men also attacked another woman at her residence at the Trade Fair area at about 2am and robbed her of GH¢1,500, $200 and three mobile phones.
On the fourth robbery incident on Boxing Day, he said at about 5:30am two men who hired a taxi with registration number GR 7114-09 from Accra to Kaneshie, snatched the taxi from the driver when they got to the TV Africa area. The taxi was, however, found abandoned at Tema.
He said the last of the robbery incidents on Boxing Day took place at about 8:30am at Amasaman when two men, who had hired a taxi with registration number GE 8631-09 from Ofankor to Amasaman robbed the driver of his two mobile phones, licence and other documents.
He said the police had arrested one person, Kofi Densu, in connection with the case.
ASP Arthur said the other robbery cases were recorded at Gbawe in Accra on December 30, 2009, one of which resulted in the death of Rev. Peter Nii Addy, while the second involved the robbing of Alhaji Seidu, also in Gbawe on the same day.
Touching on the other cases, ASP Arthur said the body of a male adult was found lying at a spot near the St John’s School at Achimota on Christmas Day.
He said the police found the body lying in a prostrate position with blood and foam oozing from both ???her??? nostrils and mouth. When the body was inspected, the police saw marks of assault, suggesting foul play.
ASP Arthur said the body of the deceased had been deposited at the Police Hospital morgue, awaiting autopsy.
He said fire also engulfed the Komkomba Market on December 28, 2009 destroying some wooden structures.
He said another fire outbreak was recorded on December 30, 2009 at Tantra Hill in Accra resulting in the death of two children in a kiosk.
ASP Arthur said the only incident recorded in the Brong Ahafo Region was when residents of Sampa arrested three men who were part of a gang of five, attacking and robbing travellers on the Sampa-Beblei road.
He said the residents were able to retrieve GH¢410, two shotguns, 25 mobile phones and 16 cartridges from the three suspects: Issah Abdulai, 22; Issifu Haruna, 20, and a third suspect, identified only as Sulley, aged 20.
He said the suspects have been handed over to the police.