Man jailed 26 years for robbing forex bureau

GNA – Yakubu Alhassan, one of the robbers who took part in a armed robbery, in which GH¢ 150,000 was stolen from a Kaneshie forex bureau, has been sentenced to 26 years imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court.

This was after the Court had found Alhassan guilty of the charges of conspiracy to rob and robbery.

The Court, presided by Mr Aboagye Tandoh, on August 22, this year, sentenced his accomplice Haruna Abdulai, a mechanic, to 21 years imprisonment after he changed his plea of not guilty to guilty on the charge of robbery.

However, the Court deferred 22-year-old-Abdulai’s sentence pending the trial of Alhassan.

In their plea for mitigation, Alhassan prayed the Court to give him a lesser sentence so he would learn from that, while Abdulai told the court he had a son who was not being cared for, and both of his parents were dead.

According to the prosecutor, Chief Superintendent Mr Duuti Tuaruka, Alhassan was a welder, who resided at Agbogbloshie, while Abdulai was unemployed and lived at Ashaiman.

On the 23 of March, Alhassan and Abdulai, with two other suspects, at large went to the forex bureau under the pretext of conducting business.

They pulled locally manufactured pistols and robbed the forex bureau, at gun point.

The prosecution said one of the forex bureau staff raised the alarm and with the support from a Police Patrol Team from Kaneshie, Alhassan and Abdulai were apprehended, while two of their accomplices escaped.

The two, while on the run, fired indiscriminately into a mob that was chasing them, injuring 14 people.

Alhassan admitted the offence in his caution statement and mentioned Abdulai and one Issah, who lived at James Town, and another person whose name he did not know as accomplices.

He later told the Court that he embarked on the robbery spree because he wanted to establish a welding shop and needed money to that effect.

Handing the jail terms, the Court sentenced Alhassan and Abdulai to 21 years on the charge of conspiracy.

However, on the charge of robbery, Alhassan had 26 years and Abdulai had 21 years. The sentences are to run concurrently.

Out of the amount robbed, only GH¢ 58,000 was found with the convicts, while two pistols were retrieved.

The Court stated that the Prosecution had established their case beyond reason doubt, adding the sentences were rolled out following the propensity of the role each one played in the robbery.

According to the Court, Abdulai did not waste time by admitting to the crime, while in the case of Alhassan, he decided to tell the Court “Ananse stories” purported to throw dust into the court’s eyes.

Alhassan, as part of his defence, told the Court that he was a victim of the robbery and that when he and one Isaac, now at large, entered the forex bureau, it was one Issa who engaged a cashier of the forex bureau.

It rejected Alhassan’s assertion that he was a victim, who was forced to flee with the robbers on the day of the incident.

“A look at the CCTV shots showed Alhassan collecting monies into a bag. Alhassan knew all the accused persons who took part in the robbery,” the Court stated.

It stated that the convicts’ identities were not in dispute and they admitted entering the forex bureau on the day of the incident.

The Court explained that the convicts, one Issa and another person now large, walked together to Kaneshie Old Takoradi Station, divided themselves into two groups and entered the forex bureau, hence the establishment of the charge of Conspiracy.

This, the Court stated: “Did not require a soothsayer or prophet to ascertain their intent. The acts of the convicts were well planned….”

According to the Court, it was, however, not clear as to whether there was an insider who fuelled the act.

GNA