Car dealer jailed three years for bus theft

An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced a car dealer to three years imprisonment for stealing a Sprinter Benz Bus valued GH¢200,000.00.

Joshua Cobbina, 59, admitted the offence and sentenced accordingly.

Meanwhile, Vincent Selasi, who has been charged for dishonestly receiving the stolen car denied the offence and has been remanded to be brought back to the Court on August 16, 2023.

Police Chief Inspector Benson Benneh told the Court that the Complainant, Rabiu Hamidu, was a businessman, who lived in Akim Oda and Germany.

The prosecution said Cobbina and Selasi were car dealer and dispatch rider respectively.

It said in 2022, the complainant imported a Sprinter Benz bus to Togo Port and after the agent had cleared the vehicle from the port, he handed over the vehicle to Cobbina to repair an engine problem.

The prosecution said Cobbina demanded 2,000 Euros to fix the vehicle, the Court heard.

It said the Complainant asked Cobbina to bring the vehicle to Accra and hand over to his sister after fixing the vehicle, but he (Cobbina) drove it to Accra and sold it to Selasi at GHC40,000.00 without the consent of the complainant.

The prosecution said the Complainant came back to Ghana and had information that Cobbina had relocated to Togo.

The complainant followed up to Lome-Togo and demanded his vehicle from Cobbina, but he could not produce it.

The complainant, the prosecution said, reported the case to Togo Police and on July 30, 2023, Togo Police assisted the complainant to arrest Cobbina and handed him over to the complainant to be brought to Ghana for the continuation of the case.

On same date, the complainant reported the case to the police in Ghana, and during interrogation, Cobbina stated that he had sold the vehicle to Selasi at GH¢40,000.00.

Investigation revealed that Selasi, after buying the vehicle, also sold it to a different person at GH¢80,000.00, but could not lead Police to retrieve the vehicle, the Court heard.

In their investigation cautioned statements, they admitted the offences in the presence of an independent witness, the prosecution said.