Tailor caught with military accoutrement jailed

A tailor caught with military gear has been sentenced to three years imprisonment in hard labour by a Kumasi Circuit Court.

Abubakar Sadiq was found with a military dagger, uniforms and caps and pleaded guilty to the offence.

Police Inspector Daniel Opoku told the court presided over by Justice Emmanuel Amo-Yartey that the complainant, Abdul Ramah Saraq, is a military officer at the Uddara Barracks, whilst Sadiq, a tailor lives at Sabon Zongo, all in Kumasi.

He said one S.W.O Aboagye Da Costa, an ex-soldier and Chairman of the Ashanti Regional branch of the Veteran Association of Ghana (VAG), alerted the complainant that a group of young men had been smoking cannabis close to Legion Barracks, near Manhyia.

The miscreants often harassed residents.

The military officer passed on the information to the police and a joint operation was mounted in the said area on November 16, at about 0530hours.

The prosecution said the group on seeing the security personnel took to their heels but Sadiq was arrested.

A body search uncovered a military dagger and another search conducted in his room led to the discovery of eight military uniforms, three military caps, a talisman and cutlass.

He admitted ownership of the gear but refused to tell the police, who supplied these to him.