Two soldiers remanded in prison custody

An Accra Circuit Court on Wednesday remanded two soldiers and their accomplices in prison custody for alleged kidnapping and robbery.

The accused include Lance Corporal Obeng Darko aka Stylish, and Lance Corporal Dasmani Faisal, both of 49 Engineer Training School and 48 Engineer Regiment respectively, Christopher Quainoo, Private surveyor and Isaac Larbi, an unemployed.

The accused persons, who pleaded not guilty, will re-appear before the court on June 19.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Tuaruka Duuti, told the court presided over by Mr Francis Obiri, that the complainant is an employee of Global Access Bank, Lapaz branch.

He said for sometime, customers of the bank have been complaining that anytime they withdraw money, some soldiers and their accomplices would arrest them, send them to an unknown place and collect their money from them.

He said at about 12 noon on May 11, the accused persons came to the bank premises, on seeing the complainant coming out from the bank, the accused persons mistook him for a customer who had gone to withdraw money, and detained him.

DSP Duuti said the complainant was then put in a taxi and sent to Dzorwulu where he was later left to his fate.

DSP Duuti said the complainant reported the ordeal to the police and on May 18 at about 12 noon, the accused persons were seen again hovering around the bank premises, where the policemen on guard arrested them and handed them over to the Tesano police.

The Prosecution said an identification parade was conducted where the complainant identified the accused people as those who had kidnapped him.

He said another complainant, a student, at about 12 noon on January 17, came to Ecobank’ branch at Mile 7, to withdraw an amount of GH¢2,000.

He said the complainant bought a mattress leaving an amount of GH¢1,780.00 and boarded a taxi heading toward Dobro near Nsawam, on reaching Taifa junction, three soldiers including L/ CPL Darko, and L/CPL Faisal were on board another taxi cab suddenly crossed the taxi carrying the complainant.

The prosecution said the soldiers took the complainant into a waiting taxi and sped off to an isolated area where they took away the amount of GH¢1,780.00 and a Nokia mobile phone.

He said the accused persons also took an amount of GH¢1,900.00 from a driver, who resides in Medie.

During their caution statement, all the accused persons denied the offence.