The Bekwai Circuit Court in the Ashanti Region has convicted and sentenced two individuals to 20 years imprisonment each for robbery.

The convicts are Justice Kpakpo Mingle alias Nii, 31, a photographer, and Justice Mensah alias Gaza, 29, a vulcanizer, both residents of Kasoa.

A third accomplice, Festus Mensah alias Gucci, is currently at large.

They were standing trial on two counts of conspiracy to commit crime to wit robbery, contrary to Sections 23(1) and 149 of the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29), and robbery contrary to Section 149 of Act 29.

The facts of the case presented by D/Sgt. Arthur Lennox, explained that the complainant George Osei Tutu, a miner based at Adansi Dompoase, was on May 22, 2026, at about 8:00 am in charge of a pickup vehicle with registration number GW 3813-25, together with Clinton Amankwa and Simon Ofori Amoah, transporting gold ore from a mining site at Denkyei heading towards Fomena.

On reaching a section of the road at Denkyei-Fomena, they were stopped and attacked at gunpoint by the accused persons who were wearing black and brown tactical military/police uniforms and robbed them of gold ore valued at GH¢165,000.

Police proceeded to the scene where the first accused person’s Ghana Card, Voters ID, Drivers License and a complimentary card bearing Nii Akpaloo Concepts and phone numbers were retrieved.

On June 9 2026, a team of Ashanti South PID personnel proceeded to Kasoa and its environs based on intelligence, and on June 10 2026, arrested the first accused at Kasoa Nyanyano Monaco. He led police to the arrest of the second accused at Kasoa Akweley Junction.

In the course of investigation, the two separately confessed to the robbery and mentioned Festus Mensah, an excavator operator who works with the complainants, as the mastermind who recruited them from Kasoa.

The second accused, Justice Mensah, told police he received GH¢60,000 as his share, out of which he gave GH¢20,000 to his wife Sakinatu to deposit into her account and used the rest to settle debts and for the upcoming funeral rites of his late mother. The first accused also said he received GH¢60,000, out of which he used GH¢18,000 to buy an Apsonic Jungle motorbike and used the remainder for house rent and miscellaneous expenses.

They told police they sold the robbed gold to a dealer at Adabraka-Accra for GH¢151,000.

Further investigation revealed that the accused persons are self-styled security guards for the Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East, Naa Koryor, and had been issued with black and brown tactical uniforms which were then used to commit the robbery.

The tactical brown uniform, black tactical trousers, boots and the Apsonic Jungle motorbike were retrieved and kept in police custody.

After trial, the court convicted the two accused persons and sentenced them to 20 years each on Count One and 20 years each on Count Two, with sentences to run concurrently.

Efforts are underway to retrieve the pistol used in the robbery and arrest the third accused person.
Source: Citi News