Phone Snatchers On Rampage

*Snatching dare-devils run amok
*Your next taxi ride could see you off without your phone

The criminal acts of mobile phone snatchers continue unabated across the country, with the prime targets of phone thieves on the prowl in the nation’s capital being expensive and luxurious Grade A phone models, this paper has gathered.

But the most intriguing act of cell phone thieves is the resort to taxi cabs to rob their vitims. Normally occupied by a gang of three, including a lady partner who normally occupies the front seat, the phone thieves pick up unsuspecting individual passengers who are then robbed of their phones, cash and pushed out of the cabs to their astonishment, GYE NYAME CONCORD can reveal.

Before the robbed passengers can recover to call for help, the gang would be far gone. A number of “store detectives” who love to trade stories about catching mobile phone snatchers putting cell phones down their pants or into bags they carry, also say the sneaky thieves prefer some top brands, including Sony Ericksson K800I, Nokia 6230I and Nokia N90 models.

Other cell phones mobile thieves now go in for are Motorola L7, Motorola LV, Motorola V8 and N9500I series. For Samsung, the sneak thieves go in for the D600I, K800 and EH40 models. But for majority of the thieves, any phone goes.

Checks conducted by the Gye Nyame Concord suggest that there are three types of mobile thieves; those who operate at Mobile Phone Stores, the zongo boys and other hoodlums, and the dare-devils who break into mobile phone stores and loot at night.

Sources say those who operate at the mobile phone stores are more often sleek and well-dressed ladies and gentlemen with sleight-of hand, whilst the zongo boys and other hoodlums operate on busy roads or quiet alleys on their own or in twos with or without motor-bikes. All three types cause big menace to the public, says the police.

Our checks revealed that these mobile phone rustlers target single ladies, working men and women, remedial schools class attendants deeply engrossed on their phones, and car drivers in traffic.

According to a number of victims whom this paper spoke to, hefty slaps, wielding of dangerous weapons like cutlasses and cudgels by the snatchers cow down victims.

Nii Lantey Ayittey, a victim, told this paper that “hand over your mobile phone” is normally the order, and refusal results in slashing the victims or instant shooting when you try to attract attention.

Mary Mensah, a student of a remedial school, Super Stars, at Accra New Town had her mobile phone snatched this way.

Emmanuel Ansong, another victim, told this reporter: “I had hardly finished making a call when two hefty-looking young men ordered me to hand over my mobile to them. And I did quietly”.

But the saddest case is that of Alhassan Abu, who after just buying a brand new Motorola V8 mobile phone was accosted by mobile phone thieves at Nima who made away with his new bride” without him ever enjoying its use once.

Sources say of the three types of thieves, the dare-devils are the hardened ones who operate at night, breaking into mobile phone stores and looting in the process.

These groups are said to operate at night, and like the zongo boys and other hoodlums, arm themselves with dangerous weapons, including pistols and sophisticated guns in their operations. They wer the type that struck at the popular Freddy’s Corner, a mobile phone operating store at Accra New Town, recently.

To off-set the break-ins, mobile phone store operators have started engaging the services of security guards to guard their premises, and this is slowing down the rate of break-ins at night.

Meanwhile, the snatching of mobile phones of individuals on the streets and dark alleys continues unabated. And in a very recent case of the phone-robbing taxi operators, two members of a gang who accosted and robbed a woman of her phone after a series of robberies of earlier victims were unluckey when they were apprehended at Mataheko, a surburb of Accra.

They were pummeleed and nearly lynched. They were saved by the presence of the Managing Editor of the Gye Nyame Concord and some bystanders who insisted on them being handed to the police.

For most of the crowd, “kill them” was the clarion call. The robbery group, included a beautiful lady who managed to outsmart and sneak out with another partner, leaving the arrested two to face the fury of the crowd.

Police from the Odorkor Police Station later told this paper that the two suspects have confirmed that the taxi was owned by their master, who was alleged to operate a mobile phone selling shop near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Accra.

The two, together with their two colleages who escaped, were on a picking and robbing spree where they had succeeded in depriving passengers of their phones and assets. By 9:30 am last week Monday morning when they were busted, they had succeeeded in robbing a woman paasenger of over ¢4 million and her phone after ealier opperations on 10 earlier passengers.

It was the determination of the lady passenger and her desperation to recover her phone and money which saw her shouting, compelling residents of the area to block the road and search the car only to discover over 10 cell phones, various assortments of items and monies, including ¢4 million under the driver’s seat.