An Accra Circuit Court has remanded 10 persons into custody in connection with the brazen daylight robbery at the offices of Royal Motors, an automobile company in Accra.
The accused persons allegedly stormed the premises of the company and robbed the company of its sales for the week totaling GH?500,000.
They were said to have also robbed a staff of the company of her gold watch and two mobile phones valued at GH?5,200.
They were reportedly captured on a CCTV but took the camera and its content.
The supposed armed robbers, after their bold escape in their attempt to escape, crashed their Toyota Corolla into another vehicle, damaging it in the process.
They abandoned it and snatched a Toyota Camry from another person, who was shot in the process.
They have been charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, robbery and abetment of crime.
They all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The court, presided by Mr Aboagye Tandoh, remanded the 10 into custody to reappear on April 4, 2018.
Superintendent of Police, Kwaku Bempah, told the court that the complainants in the matter are Baba Alhassan, Marketing and Sales Manager of the company and Zhang Sioting, cashier of Royal Motors.
He said on February 27, 2018, one of the suspects, Ali Mutah went to the premises of the company under the pretext of buying a motorcycle where he saw the money of the company in a safe.
He told the court that Ali quickly left the company and called the other accomplices.
The prosecutor said Ali Mutah, Ila Abdul Hamid and Alhassan Iliasu aka Arabman, who were wielding AK 47 riffles, stormed the premises of the company on board a Toyota Corolla with two fake registration numbers – one in the rear and the other in front of the car.
Supt Bempah narrated that Musah Abubakar, Baba Kramo, now at large and Wisdom Cudjoe, held the company’s security men hostage and succeeded in robbing the aforementioned items.
He said Suleman Kassim, during the robbery who stood at a distance, alerted Faisal Mohammed, Yussif Ibrahim, Tahiru Abubakar and Yusis Idris to take cover.
“When the accused persons detected that they had been captured by a CCTV at the premises of the company, they removed same to avoid identification and sped off amidst the firing of gunshots in different directions. In their bid to get away, they rammed a BMW saloon car with registration number GT 2277 P. They then abandoned their badly damaged Toyota Corolla car and at gunpoint snatched a Toyota Camry from a witness after they shot him in the back of his shoulder,” Supt Bempah narrated.
He said the alleged robbers, upon reaching Ablekuma-Bokoboko area, abandoned the car and snatched another Hyundai Accent car with a DVLA plate in which they escaped.
He added that on March 10, 2018, Ila Abdul Hamid, upon hearing that a member of his gang, Kamaru had been killed in Kumasi, ordered Musah Abubakar and Baba Kramo to go to the deceased’s room and pick weapons they used in the robbery and his share of the money in order to thwart police investigations.
The prosecutor added that police intelligence led to the arrest of the accused persons.
By Gibril Abdul Razak