KILLED! Alhaji Osman Jadad aka Alhaji Sita
Details are emerging about how two armed robbers on a motorbike killed a forex bureau operator at Dawhenya in Tema and made away with an amount of GH¢600,000 he borrowed from some friends.
DAILY GUIDE gathered that the gunmen shot the forex bureau operator commonly called Alhaji Osman Jadad, aka Alhaji Sita, and his friend in a car. Both were rushed to hospital but the forex bureau operator died upon arrival.
His friend, who was shot in the chest by the assailants, survived the attack. The body of the deceased has been deposited at the morgue of the 37 Military Hospital in Accra pending autopsy.
Confirming the incident, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Issah Mohammed Contona, Prampram District Police Commander, told DAILY GUIDE that the deceased received a call from a customer who wanted to change $80,000 into cedis.
According to DSP Contona, the deceased quickly contacted some friends, including a casino operator, who arranged for the cedi equivalent of dollars for him.
He said the supposed customer asked the deceased to meet him at Dawhenya with the money, adding that Alhaji Sita and three persons, who helped mobilize the money for him were ambushed on their way to the town.
“His friends, who brought the money, were reluctant to transact the business with the supposed customer outside the forex bureau, but he managed to convince them that they will take a police escort at the Dawhenya Police Station as a result of the huge amount of money they were carrying. They agreed to follow him to meet the customer to collect the dollar equivalent so they could return to Accra,” he said.
He, however, mentioned that for some strange reason the deceased passed the police station without getting the escort only to be attacked few metres away.
“As soon as they passed the police station, the armed robbers struck; they shot two persons in the car, including the forex bureau operator and ordered the two persons at the back seat to hand over the money in two bags to them and left,” he explained.
DSP Contona further stated nobody was able to muster courage to confront the armed robbers, who were firing gunshots indiscriminately, adding that they bolted on motorbike with the money.
He stressed that the three persons, who gave the money to the deceased, were arrested but granted bail after interrogation. The police chief said investigations were ongoing to bring the perpetrators of the heinous crime to book. He was buried yesterday at the Achimota Cemetery.
From Vincent Kubi, Tema