The Aflao Circuit Court has sentenced five persons, who robbed two mobile money operators at Dzelukope-Alata in the Keta Municipality of the Volta Region, to a total of 75 years’ imprisonment in hard labour.
The five accused persons pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit crime and robbery.
The court, presided over by His Honour, Ali Baba Abature, also fined the five convicts 500 penalty points each, amounting to about GH¢6,000 or in default serve additional five years’ imprisonment in hard labour.
The sentences are to run concurrently.
The five convicts were arrested on July 5, 2017 and remanded into police custody by the Aflao Circuit Court on July 7, 2017.
They are 32-year-old fisherman, Agbey Ali, 22-year-old student, Dorkenu Wisdom, 18-year-old tailor’s apprentice, Seth Gidiglo, 17-year-old unemployed, Eli Dorkenu and 22-year-old student, Bismark Ashiagbor.
A sixth suspect, whose name was given as John, is still at large.
The Police said one Mercy Sekle, a 36-year-old business woman, who reported the case to the Police, said the robbery incident happened on July 4, 2017 at about 9pm when the two mobile money operators had closed from work.
The two victims, Kumordzi David Setsofia, 24, and Benjamin Kumordzi, 28, were robbed of a green bag containing an XTG mobile phone valued at GH¢120.00, MTN Mobile Money Merchant Transaction Book, Invoice Book and cash of GH¢17,000.
Mercy told the Police that on that fateful day, the victims, after close of their usual mobile money operations, were heading towards their house at Alata when the incident occurred.
Benjamin Kumordzi was holding a bag containing an amount of GH¢17,000 and his transaction books while Kumordzi David Setsofia was holding a green bag containing cash of GH¢1,800, XTG phone valued at GH¢120 with unspecified amount of electronic money on it, MTN Mobil Money Transaction book and an invoice book.
On their way, the convicts emerged from a corner of a building along the road and asked them to hand over their bags to them, but the victims refused.
They pulled out offensive weapons such as knives and scissors to attack the victims.
The victims shouted out for help but the armed robbers collected their bags containing various sums of money and other items and inflicted several wounds on them.
The noise attracted some community members who arrested two of the convicts Agbey Ali and Dorkenoo Wisdom and handed them over to the Police.
Upon interrogation, the two admitted the offence and mentioned Seth Gidiglo and Bismark Ashiagbor as their accomplices.
They also revealed that two other guys, whose names they did not know, were involved.
On July 5, 2017, the police, acting upon a tip-off, arrested Eli Dorkenoo and Seth Gidiglo at Havedzi Beach.
They also admitted the offence in their caution statements.
On that same day, some residents found a green bag containing MTN invoice and MTN merchant transaction book and gave them to the Police.
Apart from the bag which belonged to David Kumordzi, they also found a Samsung Grand mobile phone belonging to Wisdom Dorkenoo.
From Fred Duodu and Gibril Abdul Razak, Keta ( freduoo@gmail.com)