Police Chief Inspector Jailed 10 Years For Cable Theft

A police Chief Inspector and three others who stole GH� 70,000.00 worth of cables belonging to Vodafone Ghana Limited were on Monday sentenced to 10 years imprisonment each by an Accra Circuit Court. The convicts are Chief Inspector Enoch Lamptey of the Railway Police Station, Kwadwo Gyapong aka Joe, a scrap dealer, Abubakari Alhassan Damba a driver and Abass Abubakari, a scrap dealer. The four, except Chief Inspector Lamptey were charged with conspiracy to commit crime and stealing. Chief Inspector Lamptey was charged with abetment of crime. They pleaded not guilty. Gyapong, Damba and Abubakari were sentenced to five years each on the charge of conspiracy and 10 years each on the charge of stealing. Chief Inspector Lamptey was sentenced to 10 years on the charge of abetment of crime. The sentences would run concurrently. The court said Chief Inspector Lamptey had served at the Presidency during the administration of former President John Agyekum Kufuor and wondered what kind of security he gave at the presidency. The court presided over by Mr Francis Obiri discharged Laminu Fuseni, Adam Abudulai, Haminu Salifu, Illiasu Abubakari, Yakubu Abudulai and Ohene Toffa. According to the court they were hired as porters and could not have questioned where the goods were coming from. Defence counsels for Chief Inspector Lamptey said they could appeal against the court�s judgment. Prosecuting Chief Inspector Jubiok Michaels told the court that the complainant was the Operations Manager of Vodafone Ghana Limited. Chief Inspector Michaels said Abass Abubakari was a driver in charge of a KIA Rhino Truck with registration number CR 852-10 used in the operation. On July 23, 2013, prosecution said the police at Achimota Mile Seven received a telephone call from a concerned citizen that the accused persons had stolen Vodafone underground cables and loaded them unto a KIA Rhino and were ready to take off. The Police moved in and met the convicts with some cables in the truck and had attached a chain to another underground cable, tied to truck to pull the cable out. Chief Inspector Michaels said the accused persons were arrested and escorted to the Mile Seven Police station.