The three suspects in police custody
THE COMMUNITY One District Police in Tema, the Greater Accra Region, have apprehended three suspected robbers including a female, who allegedly focuse on robbing unsuspecting bank customers.
The suspects, Prince Oware, 32; Azis Mohammed, 30 and Afia Serwaa Okyere, 36, are all residents of Pokuase, near Accra.
Serwaa the female suspect, was said to have posed as a customer of the bank while Aziz Mohammed and Prince Oware reportedly posed as a passenger and taxi driver respectively and purportedly attempted robbing one Paulina Mensah when she joined the vehicle after transacting business at the Omini Bank in Tema.
The Tema Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Juliana Obeng, told DAILY GUIDE that on Friday, February 24, 2017 the suspects, in a Hyundai i10 salon car with registration number GX 9524-13, were spotted in the vicinity of the bank.
According to her, the unsuspecting victim, who had withdrawn an unspecified amount of money from the bank, stood by the roadside looking for a vehicle when she flagged down the taxi which had Aziz at the steering wheel with Oware occupying the front passenger seat. Paulina sat beside Serwaa in the back seat.
According to her, Paulina became suspicious and told the driver that she would alight at the Community Police Station but the driver branched unto an unusual route with the explanation that he wanted to dodge some police officers on road checks ahead.
According to ASP Obeng, the driver finally stopped the taxi behind the police station for Paulina to alight, but she (Paulina) realised that she could not get out of the taxi as the door was locked.
While Paulina laboured to open it, ASP Obeng noted, Serwaa took advantage of the situation and pulled the envelope containing the money Paulina had cashed at the bank from her bag.
“In Serwaa’s attempt to replace the envelope with another in her possession which only contained papers, the money fell onto the floor of the taxi, attracting the attention of Paulina,” the police spokeswoman noted.
ASP Obeng said Paulina quickly raised an alarm for help and the suspects were busted.
From Vincent Kubi, Tema