Two men serving various terms in prison for
stealing were on Thursday arraigned before the Kade District Magistrate Court for stealing quantity of palm oil belonging to four persons.
Kwame Korankye, unemployed, is serving 12 months for stealing two gallons of palm oil while his accomplice, Kwadwo Darkwa, also known as Kwame Charles, a mason, is also in prison for 18 months for stealing a goat.
They both pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiring to steal and stealing and were sent back to prison to re-appear on December 28.
The prosecution said the two men and one Agyei now at large, on July 26 conspired to steal three drums of palm oil valued at GH¢760, eight gallons of palm oil valued at GH¢160 all to the sum of GH¢920, the properties of Abena Agbeve, Kingsley Appau, Grace Amakyewaa and Adwoa Korankyewaa.
Police Inspector Francis Cobbina, giving the facts of the case before the court, presided over by Mr Abdul Majid Iliasu, said Abena Agbeve was an Asamankese trader, Kingsley Appau a sprayer, Grace Amakyewaa, a farm labourer and Adwoa Korankyewaa a self-employed woman, all of whom lived at Kade.
He said on July 28 at 0400 hours, one Eric Sintim, a driver of Mazda bus with registration number WR 1107 N, was inflating his lorry tyre at a vulcanizer's shop when the two accused persons approached him and hired him to convey their drums and gallons of palm oil on the Kade-Kusi road to a house near Asaah Hotel at Kade.
The driver charged them GH¢20 but the accused persons said there was no problem with that and they even promised of paying GH¢40 after conveying the items.
The prosecutor said the two boarded the vehicle and the driver took off and on reaching a certain spot on the Kusi road, the accused persons pointed at three drums by the roadside and claimed they belonged to them and were
therefore loaded into the vehicle.
They also directed the driver to drive to Adompo where they pointed eight gallons of palm oil as theirs and they were also loaded onto the
vehicle.
The prosecutor said when the accused persons again directed the driver to a house near the Asaah Hotel, the driver became suspicious and demanded to know the actual owner of the palm oil.
The accused persons then called someone on phone who also directed the driver to offload the palm oil at a house and to meet him at Okumaning
junction for payments but the driver insisted that he would only agree to discharge the items if the owner was seen.
The prosecutor said the accused persons then requested the driver to mention any amount that he would need and when the driver realized that they were thieves, he drove the vehicle to the police station to report the case.
On the same day, Korankye was arrested by the youth of Kade after the complainants had identified the palm oil as theirs.
In his statement on caution, Korankye admitted the offences and mentioned that he did the operation with Kwadwo Darkwa after he had been employed by one Agyei who is now on the run.
On July 19, Darkwa who was being sought by police was arrested in connection with stealing of five goats at Okyinso and was sentenced to 18
months in prison in hard labour.
Korankye was, however, convicted and sentenced to 12 months in hard labour on July 30.