Four arrested for robbing banks in Accra
Four persons accused of specialising in breaking into banks and other financial institutions in some parts of Accra were Tuesday remanded in police custody by the Accra Circuit Court.
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The accused — Kwaku Boateng, alias Chairman, a 47-year-old self-styled businessman; Bright Owusu, 27, unemployed; Michael Ofori, a 28-year-old mechanic, and Latif Musah, 25, a footballer — are said to have been on the police wanted list since 2013.
They pleaded not guilty to six counts of conspiracy, unlawful entry and stealing.
They are to reappear before the court on March 1, 2016.
Leader
Boateng is said to be the leader of the gang who recruited the others after some of the members of his original gang were arrested and imprisoned after prosecution in 2013.
The police mounted a manhunt for the gang, following reports from a number of banks that their premises had been broken into and their money and other valuable items were stolen.
According to the police, between November 23, 2015 and February 3, this year, the gang broke into some financial institutions located at Dzorwulu, Darkuman Nyamekye, Nii Boi Town, Abeka and Aplaku, all in Accra, where they made away with various sums and some electronic gadgets.
Facts
Prosecuting, Assistant Superintendent of Police Mr Steven Adjei told the court that the gang, led by Boateng, succeeded in stealing a total of GH¢77,800 from their victims between November, 2015 and February, 2016.
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He said the gang, in one instance, took away the entire table top safe of a bank after it had broken into the premises in the night.
Mr Adjei said during police investigations, it came to light that in February 2013, Boateng had broken into two rural banks in Accra, with one of his accomplices identified as Samuel Lakotey Lartey.
He said the two made away with GH¢50,000 but luck eluded them and they were arrested.
However, Boateng, after securing a court bail, recruited three more persons and started operating with them, he added.
Modus operandi
To enable the gang gain access to the banks’ vaults and safes, he said, Boateng claimed the gang used special keys to open the locks to the financial institutions and the mobile retail shops.
He said Boateng also claimed, during interrogation, that the gang occasionally broke padlocks and other fortified locks if the special keys failed to work.