Nkrumah Circle businessman jailed 14 years for stealing laptops, tablets

For the crime of breaking into a shop, stealing 91 assorted laptops and 51 tablets and selling same to various individuals, a businessman, James Ugochukwu Nwobi, has been jailed for 14 years with hard labour. 

He did this by conspiring with a fellow businessman, Solomon Otis, who received part of the goods he knew were stolen. Otis has been sentenced to five years with hard labour for his involvement.

They were sentenced last Tuesday at the Adentan Circuit Court, presided over by Her Honour Sedinam Awo Kwadam, after both men pleaded guilty. 

Nwobi, who faced three charges: causing unlawful damage, theft and unlawful entry, was sentenced to three years on count one (causing unlawful damage), 12 years on count two (theft) and two years on count three (unlawful entry).

Otis on the other hand, was charged with conspiracy and dishonestly receiving the stolen goods. He is to serve four years on count four (conspiracy) and five years on count five (dishonestly receiving). The sentence of both convicts is to run concurrently.

During the proceedings, the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Maxwell Lanyo, said that efforts were underway to apprehend a third accomplice, Awudu Mamudu, alias Focus, who was at large.

In presenting the case before the court, Chief Inspector Lanyo explained that Nwobi, Otis, and Mamudu were business partners operating at Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra. 

He added that on September 26, 2024, the complainant, Frederick Sackey, whose shop is in Okponglo, Accra, discovered that the burglar-proof bars of the windows to his storeroom upstairs had been destroyed and the said items valued at GH¢366,200 stolen.

The prosecutor noted that on September 29, 2024, a friend of the complainant found one of the stolen tablets, identified by its serial number: GPSZ2024070418582, displayed in a showcase near the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange at Circle in Accra. 

Chief Inspector Lanyo said that on September 30, 2024, the owner of the showcase, Stephen Akwaboah, who also served as a witness in the case, was arrested and the stolen tablet was recovered. 

Akwaboah subsequently identified one Charles Chubuike Eze, a phone dealer, as the person who sold him the tablet. This connection led to Eze's arrest and ultimately to the arrest of the second convict, Otis.

During questioning, Otis claimed he had purchased only two tablets from someone, whose whereabouts he had no idea of. 

The prosecutor noted that on October 3, 2024, police received intelligence that two laptops matching the complainant's description of his stolen goods had been located at the Tip-Toe Lane, also at Circle in Accra. 

A police team was dispatched, leading to the arrest of one Chukuemeka Itiri, another witness, who was found in possession of the two laptops.

Chief Inspector Lanyo reported that the said witness, Itiri, disclosed that the first convict, Nwobi, had given him the laptops to sell.

He then led the police to Nwobi's residence at Plus 1 Lodge, Circle, where he was arrested.

When his room was searched, two tablets and a laptop, all confirmed to belong to the complainant, were found.

"Investigations revealed that around 6 a.m. on September 26, 2024, after Nwobi had stolen the said goods, he contacted Otis and Mamudu, informing them of his bootie and his intention to sell the goods through them,” the prosecutor added.

Later that day, Otis and Mamudu met with Nwobi at his residence, where he handed over to them 21 "oteeto" tablets and 22 laptops.

The prosecutor noted that Otis made an initial deposit of GH¢1,000 to Nwobi before they left with the stolen goods.

"After Nwobi confessed to the crimes, Otis admitted to selling 19 of the tablets to one Victoria Osei Praku, a witness in this case, for GH¢250 each, convincing her that they were brought in by his brother from Dubai. These 19 tablets have since been recovered," the prosecutor explained.

Chief Inspector Lanyo said that on October 4, 2024, Nwobi led the police to the complainant's shop and identified it as the location of the theft.

He added that once Mamudu learned of the developments, he went into hiding. 

The prosecutor informed the court that to date, 22 tablets and three laptops had been recovered and were in police custody.