Two armed robbers remanded for snatching taxicab

Agona Swedru, July 16, GNA - A Circuit Court at Agona Swedru presided over by Mr R.R Asaase has remanded two armed robbers who snatched a taxi cab at gun point.

The accused persons are Kwesi Nkrumah, farmer and Kweku Moses, barber, both resident at Agona Nyakrom in the Central Region. The third accused person Kojo Acquah, a taxi driver is at large. Their plea was not taken and they would reappear in court on August 4, 2004.

Prosecuting Detective Sergeant R. A. Boamah told the court that on May 17, 2004, at about 20:30 hours, the three accused persons hired a taxi-cab from Agona Swedru to Odoben to go and inform the parents of the third accused person about his wife who has given birth at the Winneba Government Hospital.

According to Sgt. Boamah, on their way reaching a spot between Agona Nkum and Odoben, one of the accused persons asked the driver to stop to enable him to urinate.

Detective Sergeant Boamah said immediately the driver stopped the three accused persons pounced on him at gun point, heckled and pushed him out of the vehicle and drove it away.

He told the court that the three accused persons drove the taxi-cab to Ashiaman and replaced the registration number GR 418 T with GW 1101 U, a private number to avoid detection and pasted" For Sale" at the front and back of the vehicle.

According to Sgt Boamah the accused persons later sold the vehicle to one Godfred at Ashiaman VALCO Flats.

Upon a tip-off Detective Sgt Boamah said police arrested the buyer at Ashiaman when he parked the car in front of his house.

He said during interrogations the witness mentioned the three accused persons as the persons who brought the car to him for sale. According to Sgt Boamah the witness received a call from one of the accused persons and asked him to inform others to come for the rest of the money. He alerted the police and the two were arrested.

Detective Sgt Boamah told the court that a searched in Kwaku Moses' room revealed three rounds of live cartridges, military camouflage trousers and a purse in which various phone numbers had been written. He said in his cautioned statement to the police Kwesi Nkrumah, the first accused denied knowledge about the robbery while the second accused Kweku Moses on the other hand confessed his involvement in the robbery. 16 July 04