Armed robber dies in cable theft

Tema, Jan. 19, GNA - One out of three armed robbers in the early hours of Saturday was killed in a shoot-out with Tema police who had laid ambush to cause their arrest for stealing high tension cables in the Tema heavy industrial area.

The two others who sustained bullet wounds managed to escape, the Tema Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) John Kudalor told newsmen in Tema.

He said following continuous theft of cables belonging to the Ghana Telecommunications (GT) its management lodged complaint with the Police for assistance to track down on the culprits while some monetary offer has been set aside for informants of cable theft. He said as a result, the police had been on the alert, therefore acting upon a tip-off that some people were planning to steal some cables around the Sethi Brothers Limited and Tropical Cables Limited, police personnel were detailed to lay ambush. Between 0300 and 0400 hours of Saturday the armed robbers executed their plan and succeeded in cutting a quantity of the cables but on seeing the police they engaged in a gun battle that claimed one of them while the two took to their heels.

ACP Kudalor said the police would take the finger print of the deceased robber to the forensic laboratory to check if he was known before depositing the body at the morgue for autopsy. Two unused cartridges, two gun shots, a knife, torch light and pliers were found on the deceased who was wearing four different shirts and a coat, the Commander stated, adding that information indicated that the robbers sell the cables at cheaper prices. He appealed to the public to volunteer information on suspicious characters, especially those with wounds to the police, assuring them of not revealing their identities. In another development, armed robbers attacked the residence of the former Tema Regional Police Commander, Mrs Agnes Sikanartey at Sakumono Estates.

There were no casualties but the robbers perforated the building with gun shots and that of the neighbours, Chief Inspector Yaw Nketia-Yeboah, Regional Public Affairs Officer told newsmen. The buildings were also smeared with blood stains, indicating that the robbers were wounded in the attack.