The Asante Bekwai Circuit Court on Thursday sentenced two commercial motor riders (okada riders) and a driver to a total of 30 years imprisonment in hard labour for robbery.
Francis Akwasi Bio, also known as “shadow,” 18, Bright Boakye, 25, both okada riders and Michael Ankapong, 38, driver, pleaded guilty to the charges and were each sentenced to five years imprisonment on conspiracy and ten years for robbery.
However, the Court presided over by Mark Tair-ima Diboro ordered that the sentence would run concurrently.
Police Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Ofori told the Court that Kwaku Acheampong, an okada rider, the complainant, resided at Fiakoma near Jacobu.
He said Bio and Boakye also lived at Trede near Kumasi whilst Ankapong lived at Adansi-Domeabra, explaining that the three had been friends for some time and communicated on their cellular phones from time to time.
On June 19, 2021, Bio called the two and they met at Airport/Jacobu, where they planned to rob motorists, among other road users.
The Court heard that the three set off to the untarred Airport-Adumanu Road and laid ambush in a nearby bush after which the complainant in charge of his Royal motorbike with the registration number M-21-AS-6842 valued GHS4,600.00 emerged from a mining site towards the Airport direction.
Police Detective Chief Inspector Ofori said the convicts wielding a pistol stopped the complainant, pushed him from the bike, dragged him into the bush, gagged and tied his hands and fled with the bike towards Fomena direction.
Mr Acheampong managed to free himself, went to the mining site to raise the alarm as well as informed his colleagues and other riders at Dompoase.
Prosecution said the Dompoase riders mounted a barrier where they arrested the culprits at Kyeaboso and handed them over to the Fomena Police together with the motorbike.
He said the complainant was contacted and he went to the police station to identify the bike and all three, especially Bio, who hails from Fiakoma as the one who rode the bike after the robbery.
Police Detective Chief Inspector Ofori said they were handed over to the Jacobu Police for investigations. They confessed to the crime but denied using any implement.
During further investigations, the Police, together with convicts and the complainant went to the crime scene where the complainant’s torn jacket was found in the course of the struggle between him and perpetrators.
GNA