Two attackers of forex bureau at Kaneshie remanded
Two men said to be part of a gang that robbed a forex bureau of GH¢150,000 at Kaneshie in Accra were yesterday remanded in police custody by the Accra Circuit Court.
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Yakubu Alhassan and Haruna Abdulai have been charged with conspiracy to commit crime and robbery. They pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Appearances
The accused persons appeared in court bearing scars and cuts on their faces and heads.
Abdulai, in particular, had a swollen face and stitches all over his head.
That, according to the prosecution, was due to the beatings he received from a mob after the alleged offence.
Bail application
Counsel for Alhassan, Mr C.K. Hoeyi, prayed the court to grant him (Alhassan) bail because he was not part of the alleged robbery gang.
He argued that on the day of the incident, Alhassan was on his way to buy spare parts at Abossey Okai but was mistakenly arrested as a member of the gang.
The court, presided over by Mr Aboagye Tandoh, however, refused his application and further cautioned him not to get into the merits of the case, because “there is no need for that at such an early stage’’.
“Based on the circumstances of the charges, it is premature at this stage of the case to grant bail,’’ the court asserted.
Facts
Presenting the facts of the case, the prosecutor, Superintendent of Police Mr Duuti Tuaruka, said on March 23, 2016, the two accused persons in the company of two others, who were now at large, went to the Bext Nascant Forex Bureau at Mpamprom-Kaneshie on the pretext of conducting business.
He said the gang immediately after entering the bureau took the manager and two workers of the facility hostage at gunpoint and robbed them of all the monies in the safe and drawers.
One of the workers, he said, raised an alarm which led to the arrest of the two accused persons by a police patrol team and other people at the scene.
“When Abdulai and Alhassan were being chased by the mob, they fired indiscriminately at them. In the process, 14 people sustained gunshot wounds,” he added.
He further said a search by the police on the accused persons revealed GH¢58,000, two locally manufactured pistols and 21 live cartridges.
The case was adjourned to April 13, 2016.