20 years of prison life for electric cables thieves

Mpreaso(E/R), Sept. 21, GNA- Two persons have been jailed a total of 20 years in hard labour for stealing large quantities of electricity cables worth thousand of cedis belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana(ECG).

The Mpreaso Circuit Court presided over by Justice Alex Owusu Ofori, a high court judge sitting as an additional circuit court judge, sentenced the two persons; Kwabena Denkyi, a driver and Kwesi Osei, a chainsaw operator, who pleaded guilty to the two counts of conspiracy to steal and stealing.

Prosecuting, Police Detective Inspector Christian Apronti, told the court that, at about 3.30 am on 3rd September this year, the two accused persons were seen at the Mpraeso lorry Park waiting for a taxi cab to cart their baggage made up of two "fertilizer sacks" containing the stolen cables.

He said a witness who also boarded the taxi questioned the two persons about the content of the two sacks which angered the two thieves as they argued with the questioner.

Inspector Apronti said the witness then alerted the police personnel at the Bepon check point on telephone resulting in the arrested of the suspects at the check point. The prosecutor said during interrogation that the two accused persons claimed ownership of the stolen cables in the sack. He said there had been series of theft of ECG low tension cables in various parts of the Kwahu area and that the accused persons were suspected to be part of a syndicate operating in the area. 21 Sept.10