Three jailed for stealing Vodafone cables

An Accra circuit court presided over by Justice Francis Obiri has sentenced three persons to a total of 17 years imprisonment for stealing cables belonging to telecoms giant, Vodafone Ghana.

The three - Kofi Donkor was given seven years whilst Sumaila Abdulai and Rahman Yussif got five years each. The cables, which were valued at GH¢15,500, affected 448 Vodafone customers. Prosecuting Chief Inspector Michael Jubiok from the Greater Accra Regional Police Command told the court on Saturday that at 0300 hours on March 9, 2012, two security guards manning a restaurant at East Legon spotted Kofi Donkor and an accomplice cutting the cables in a chamber belonging to Vodafone Ghana.

He said Donkor was apprehended but his accomplice escaped. Sumaila Abdulai and Rahman Yussif on the other hand were spotted by a passer-by cutting Vodafone cables in Kisseiman, West Legon at 0200 hours on June 19, 2013. The passer-by then raised the alarm and together with some residents in the area they (suspects) were detained until Police personnel from Achimota arrived at the scene. A statement from Vodafone Ghana on the arrest said, earlier this month three other persons were sentenced to a total of nineteen years for a similar offence.

It said Vodafone with the support of the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Judicial Service had set up special Saturday Courts to expedite sentences on cable theft. Vodafone said about 25 per cent of all its fixed broadband faults were due to cable cuts. In 2012, the company spent GH¢5.00 million to replace stolen cables.