2 Cable thieves handed 3 years imprisonment
Two persons suspected to be behind the stealing of cables belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and causing power outages in some parts of the Ahanta West District in the Western Region have been slapped with three years imprisonment each.
The two, Samuel Cudjoe, 35, and Samuel Kodjoe, 33, were tried and convicted by a Takoradi Circuit Court presided over by Mrs Rita Doku.
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Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Eudoxie Addo said the two were charged with conspiracy to steal, causing damage and stealing after they were arrested and detained on
On the day of their arrest, the police on their usual checkpoint duties stopped a taxi with registration number GT 4048-17 at the Apremdo barrier at about 2 a.m. and decided to inspect the vehicle and passengers on board.
The two, who were the two passengers in the taxi, had a fertiliser bag containing quantities of cables and earth wires, pairs of scissors and pliers, a black school bag and a knife.
Upon suspicion, the two persons were arrested and during investigations, the items were found to be part of items that were stolen from the ECG at Ankyernyin in the Ahanta West District of the Western Region.
Series of robberies
Following the sentencing of the two, the acting General Manager of the ECG in the Western Region, Ibrahim Yakubu, told journalists in Accra that there had been four separate robbery incidents targeting ECG property between June 29 and July 13, 2018.
He added that if such acts continued unchecked, it would jeopardise the smooth transmission of power to parts of the region and intermittent outages in the affected areas, as it took time and cost to replace such vandalised or stolen items.
Mr Yakubu appealed to all citizens, especially those who lived close to ECG installations, to be vigilant as such activities of robbers were taking their toll on the work of the ECG in the Western Region.
The acting Western Regional Engineer of the ECG, Mr Ebenezer Addy, said in most situations, the cable thieves targeted pole-mounted transformers and neutral cables and when they stole them, it affected electrical appliances of households in the event of power surges.
He further lauded the Kwesimintsim District Police command for nabbing the cable thieves.