Kumasi phone snatching syndicate, an albatross around our necks that must be removed

Imagine using your phone and enjoying yourself while sitting in a car and the next second your phone is no longer in your hand. You might think you are dreaming but trust me, from what I have seen in Kumasi recently this is real; your phone can disappear from your hand while using it in a car especially when you are sitting by a window. How does this happen?

There is now a phone snatching syndicate in Kumasi that has made using phones in a car unsafe. What they do is that they position themselves strategically at places where the flow of traffic is slow and look out for people sitting by windows of cars either private or commercial. They then sneak their way close to the window, snatch the phone of the unsuspecting victim and run with such speed that you might consider them qualified to win a gold medal in any Olympic games on any day. The first time I witnessed this happen to someone, I was furious at the thief but at the same time I felt pity for the victim because I know I would not like it if it happened to me and I am sure no one would want to be a victim. Many people have lost their phones to these criminals.

It is possible that the Ashanti Regional Police Command may not be aware of this so this platform is being used to draw their attention. The popular location for these criminals is Adum, right from the railway police station to the Boss FM building. There are other places in Kumasi or other parts of the country that others have fallen victim which may come to light once some attention is given to this issue.

To everyone who uses a phone, while waiting for the police to act, it would be advisable to know when to use your phone and when not to. Holding on with that sweet whatsapp chat till you get home or to a safe place is not going to kill you. Refusing to pick that call at a particular unsafe moment is not going to cost you anything. On the contrary, it will help you keep your phone a little while longer.

I would suggest that we all take caution whiles using our phones during this festive season and beyond so that at least we keep our phones and stay in touch with our loved ones in this season of joy.

To the Ghana Police Service we are counting on you to help handle this problem promptly. To media houses, please help sensitize people on this and also push the authorities to do something. Let us see which media house helps to solve this.

To all of us as citizens, if you read this, please share for others to know. Don’t sit unconcerned, thinking that those who have lost their phones were just careless. Tell a friend to tell a friend so that a friend’s phone will be safe.

Afehyia pa oo.