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Cable stealing syndicate
busted
Accra, Jan. 17, Ghanadot/GNA - A combined team of officers
of the Ghana Police Service, security personnel of Ghana
Telecom and Electricity Company of Ghana have busted a cable
stealing syndicate operating in the Sukura area of Accra
West.
Mr Teye Yohuno, Accra West Regional Manager of Ghana Telecom
gave the estimated cost of the cables as in excess of
100,000 Ghana Cedis (1 billion Cedis).
The arrest of the syndicate members of seven was after
several days of surveillance following a tip-off that some
persons were undertaking some dubious activities in the neighbourhood.
Briefing the media, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)
Alex Yartey Tawiah of the Dansoman District said the police
had been on the look out for such miscreants in the society
and would go to all lengths to flush them out.
He named those arrested as Musah Adams, 38; Abib Mohammed
20; Karim Ibrahim 40 and Abdala Taal 45.
The rest are Dauda Unar, Ali Deri and Sani Abdulai all aged
50 years each.
DSP Tawia said when the police pounced on the cable thieves
in the early hours of Wednesday January 15, 2005, they
arrested only the driver of the vehicle, but the other
members of the syndicate bolted.
“However, two other persons showed up later with GH 200
cedis (2 million cedis) to bribe the police and were
arrested for complicity.
As if that was not enough, four
others came forward with Five Hundred Ghana Cedis (5 million
Cedis) just in case the earlier amount of Two Hundred Ghana
Cedis was not able to convince the police officers who were
handling the case.
“I asked my men to feign interest and this led to the arrest
of the others on the basis that they could be part of the
larger syndicate.”
DSP Tawiah said it was strange that they could muster
courage and come over trying to influence the police.
Mr Yohuno explained that it was such nefarious activities
that hindered GT’s avowed drive to provide an efficient and
uninterrupted service to its clients.
“This no doubt dents the image
of GT and reduces its competitive edge in the
telecommunications industry. But we must all as Ghanaians
rise up and resist cable theft by reporting strange
activities of persons at the GT chambers that house the
cables.”
Between 2005 and 2006 GT, the nation’s top
telecommunications industry service provider lost close to
1,000,000 Ghana Cedis in damages and cost from cable theft
and destruction of its copper wires across the country.
In 2006 alone, GT lost 460,000 Ghana Cedis (4.6 billion old
Cedis).
GNA
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