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The Tema Regional Police Command has turned a number of seized motorbikes into scraps for sale to the Tema Steel Company. The scraps are to be converted into steel products. The bikes were seized in separate exercises mounted by the police in Tema to clamp down on criminals and unlicensed motorbikes in the metropolis. The exercise, which took place at the forecourt of the Tema Regional Police Command, was in line with the law which allows the auction of motorbikes and vehicles when owners refuse to collect them after due legal processes and public announcements. Speaking to the media in Tema on Friday, the Tema Regional Police Commander, DCOP Maxwell Atingane, said proceeds from the sale would be lodged in the Consolidated Fund. At the time of briefing, mechanics were busily engaged in the dismantling of the auctioned bikes under close supervision of the police. DCOP Atingane said the police would ensure that criminals who used motorbikes in criminal activities including robbery, stealing and bag snatching were cleared from the metropolis. He said they had been a nuisance to the public and therefore must be discouraged from operating. DCOP Atingane said a decision was reached to convert the motorbikes into scrap to ensure that the seized bikes did not get back to the original owners. He said the police had gone through all the legal processes before undertaking the exercise, which, according to him, would benefit the productive sector of the economy. DCOP Atingane said announcements were made for owners to collect their bikes after satisfying the necessary conditions but they failed to respond except those with genuine cases who presented documents to collect their bikes. DCOP Atingane said the clampdown on criminals would be extended to Ashaiman and its environs to clear criminals from the area as well.