Beninoise remanded for possessing guns

An Accra Circuit Court, presided over by Aboagye Tandoh, has remanded a 41 year old Beninoise national who was apprehended at the Aflao-Lome Border for possessing twelve single barrell guns.

The suspect, Dennis Dableou, pleaded not guilty to the charge levelled against him on Tuesday morning, and was remanded into a lawful custody to reappear on February 16, 2016 for hearing. He was charged with possession of firearms without lawful authority.

Facts

Briefing the court, the Prosecutor in the case said the complainants in this case are Immigration officers stationed at Aflao in the Volta Region, whilst the suspect, Dennis Dableou, is a Benin national domiciled in Ivory Coast.

According to him, on January 27, 2016, at about 5:10 p.m., while the complainants were on duty at the Aflao-Lome Border, they spotted a motorbike carrying the suspects, one carrying a sack and the other the pillion rider.

He added that they stopped them for a search, during which they found 12 single barrel guns in the sack and the suspect was apprehended, but the motor rider managed to abscond.

The suspect was later escorted to the Headquarters of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) together with the exhibits for investigations. During interrogation, the suspect admitted to the offence and stated that he bought the guns from a blacksmith in a town called Savelou in Benin.

He said he was transporting same to Ivory Coast to be used by his colleague farmers to protect their farms from animals, which usually destroy their crops. Investigations are ongoing.