Shortly before giving up the ghost early Monday morning, a suspected 29-year-old armed robber who gave his name only as Romeo told The Finder newspaper that he was misled by a friend into a stealing expedition that was supposed to be easy, but which ended up costing him his life.
Speaking under a very low tone before his last breath, Romeo, who said he is a resident of Kasoa in the Central Region, said he was in the company of five others who managed to flee the robbery in an Opel Vectra saloon car.
He said a friend of his, whose name he gave as Uche, a resident of Ashaiman Newtown, informed him and the five others, all residents of Circle in Accra, that the MTN Money Collection Depot at Ashaiman New-town was an easy because of the lack of security at the place.
He said on Sunday, Uche took them to the area, where they mapped out their entry and exit routes before storming the depot Monday morning.
�So this morning we came here to complete our mission, but my guys left me behind when alarm was raised,� were the last words Romeo said before he passed away.
A small rifle with bullet was found in a small bag Romeo had on him.
Workers in the MTN depot were tight lipped about the incident, but residents in the area told The Finder that at about 8.50 am Monday they heard a gunshot in front of the depot and when they rushed out to find out what was amiss they spotted some individuals driving away in a saloon car.
The deceased, they said, was later seen fleeing from the depot to stop a cab across the street to follow his accomplices.
The cabbie, they said, was given a hot chase by residents, forcing the driver to stop to release the suspected robber.
After firing into the air to scare the residents from pursuing him, the suspected robber took to his heels.
But his gun failed to fire the second time and the irate youth pursued him until he was grabbed at a shanty area in Newtown.
Romeo�s pursuers, including mothers and young ladies, subjected the robber to sever beatings with stones, clubs and machetes.
They then dragged him to the T-junction in front of the MTN depot where many more people and passers-by thronged to inflict further punishment on the suspected robber.
Romeo died before police personnel from the Ashaiman District arrived at the scene. Monday�s robbery was the fourth time this year that the MTN Money Depot at Ashaiman Newtown has been robbed.
<<Print>>