Police robbers go haywire …after being slapped with a 20yr jail term each

There was absolute commotion and misunderstanding at the premises of an Accra Circuit court yesterday, as one convict openly attacked and blamed his colleague, who had also been convicted for robbing a businessman, for his woes.

Bismark Ampofo held his fingers and physically attacked Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Patrick Kwapong of the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF), amidst yelling that he had caused him to lose his integrity, and was going to start a 20-year prison life.

Additionally, family members of the convicts, who had besieged the court premises, hurled insults and curses on the presiding judge for imprisoning their relations, as journalists also, had their fair share of the insults and attacks.

A reporter from the Observer Newspaper was physically attacked by Constable Benjamin Blejumah, one of the convicts, for photographing the misunderstanding that had erupted among the convicts.

The three convicts were among some policemen and civilians, found guilty of robbing one Mr. Kwaku Duah, a Ghanaian businessman, of over $53,000 and other personal items at a hotel in Dzorwulu, a suburb of Accra.

The rest of the convicts include Chief Inspector Thomas Adu, Sergeant John Adjapong, Corporal Lawrence Dennis Quansah, Lance Corporal Karim Muntari, Aams Amanor, Kwasi Tawiah and Peter Kwame Gyasi aka Kwame Tawiah.

The court, presided over by Mr. Justice Iddrisu Mahamadu, currently a High Court judge, found all the accused persons guilty of conspiracy, and sentenced them to 20 years imprisonment in hard labour.

Additionally, the court convicted Chief Inspector Thomas Adu, Sergeant John Adjapong, Corporal Lawrence Dennis Quansah, Lance Corporal Karim Muntari and Aams Amanor for robbery, and were sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in hard labour.

The sentences are to run concurrently.
As the court handed down sentences, family members of the convicts begun to shed tears, as their relations journeyed to commence their prison sentences. According to the court ruling, there was overwhelming evidence that the accused persons conspired to rob Mr. Duah, a Ghanaian resident in Switzerland, who was in the country to purchase gold.

The court indicated that it did not find the defense of the accused persons to be reasonable, but believed the case of the prosecution.

The court further asserted that there was communication among all the accused persons, adding that they knew that the businessman, who is the complainant in the case, was arriving into the country to purchase gold with foreign currencies, and as a result were monitoring him.

The court further indicated that there was clear evidence that the accused persons attacked the complainant with arms, beat and assaulted him, and thereafter took away his money and other valuable items.

It was the view of the court, in condemning the defence of the policemen that they were obeying orders from their superior, DSP Patrick Kwapong, that there was no lawful order to be respected, since there was no official police record at the station.

The court held that Aams Amanor, who knew the complainant in Switzerland, was the main architect of the “diabolical act,” and as a result, got the other accused persons into it.

According to the court, the accused policemen went on their diabolical operation wearing masks, noting, “What kind of policemen are these? They are daring, smart, brave, adventurous and diabolical.”

The court subsequently appreciated the work of the media in exposing the evidence, which it noted, could not be swept under the carpet. Aams Amanor is said to have known the complainant, Mr. Duah, in Switzerland, and sometime last year, Mr. Duah discussed with Amanor that he would come to Ghana to purchase gold.

Amanor subsequrently assured him of his absolute assistance.

Consequently, Mr. Duah arrived in Ghana on February 1, and checked in at the Relax Court Hotel at Dzorwulu in Accra, where he got in touch with Amanor, who informed him about the dealers in the gold business.

The following day, at about 10:00 hours, Amanor and Jeffery, armed with a pistol, and now at large, Gyasi, and a Nigerian also at large, went to the room of the complainant under the pretext of transacting the gold business with Mr. Duah.

Before the meeting, Jeffery and the Nigerian had arranged with Amanor, who had instructed Chief Inspector Adu, Sergeant Adjapong, Corporal Quansah and a soldier, who is also at large, to storm the hotel.

When they got to the hotel, they met Lance Corporal Muntari, Constables Acheampong and Blejumah.

They broke into the complainant's room, where Jeffery pulled a pistol and beat the complainant until he bled from the nose.

They also searched the room, and took two envelopes containing $53,000, 800 Euros and GH¢2,000 from the complainant's pocket.

In addition, they took away a black bag containing two walkman CD players, a digital camera valued at $4,000, two bunches of keys, and a Standard Chartered Bank cheque book.

They arrested Mr. Duah, and later abandoned him at Tema.