David Kofi Okine in police custody
The Nungua Divisional Police Command has apprehended a 46-year-old businessman for allegedly stealing sofa chairs valued at GH¢3,750.
The suspect David Kofi Okine, who claims to be a businessman in Suame, Kumasi, was arrested at Nsawam while allegedly transporting the stolen goods to Kumasi.
ASP Effia Tenge, the Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), who narrated the incident to DAILY GUIDE, said the suspect was later handed over to the Nungua Police for further investigations.
She said on March 15, 2017, Okine, in the company of a middle-aged man, approached the complainant, who is a carpenter at a shop at Nungua and inquired about the price of the sofa chairs.
The complainant quoted GH¢1250 for one set and suspect and his companion expressed interest in purchasing three sets of Sofa chairs the following week.
On March 22, 2017 around 9:30am, the suspect on board a Kia truck went to complainant’s shop to select three sets of sofa chairs valued at GH¢3,750 and parked them onto a Kia truck.
He convinced the complainant to go with him to Access Bank Circle Branch to enable him withdraw the money for him but the complainant asked two of his apprentices to follow the suspect to the bank for the money and they all boarded the Kia truck and embarked on the journey.
She said upon reaching Danquah Circle, the suspect hired the services of a taxi driver and pleaded with the two apprentices identified as Ntim Kwame and Samuel Yeboah to join him in the taxi cab.
The apprentices agreed and boarded the taxi to Access Bank at Circle.
At the banking hall, suspect suddenly received a call and bolted after he pretended to be receiving the call outside.
The apprentices, after waiting for some time for the suspect, called their master on phone to inform him about the incident.
The two apprentices rushed to Dankwa Circle but the Kia truck was nowhere to be found.
Ntim Kwame quickly boarded a motorbike and moved to Nsawam.
On the Nsawam Road, Ntim Kwame spotted the suspect in the front seat of a Kumasi-bound Sprinter bus and quickly alerted the Nsawam Police.
He was immediately apprehended and later handed over to the Nungua police.
A search conducted by the police revealed a passport, NHIS card and Voter Identification Card, which had different names- David Kofi Okai, Asare Baffour and Stephen Obeng.
On March 23, 2017, the suspect led the police to a house at Dome where one of the three sets of Sofa Chairs was retrieved.
While in custody, the Kwashiman Police also called for the suspect to help them investigate a similar case.
He is still in custody assisting in police investigations, while efforts were being made to retrieve the remaining sofa chairs.
By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey