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The Tema Office of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has been forced to temporarily shut down after some unidentified persons burgled the office in the early hours of last Thursday.

The thieves made away with computers, documents and an undisclosed amount of money.

As at the time of filing this report, it was unclear the number and the nature of documents that were stolen, but the break-in affected operations at the office, leading to its temporary shut down.

When the Daily Graphic visited the office last Thursday afternoon, a ‘No entrance, no work’ notice had been put up at the main entrance, while the main administration block had been cordoned off by the police, who have initiated investigations into the matter.

Officials at the office were tight-lipped on the matter, while clients who had gone there to transact business were turned away.

Loss of revenue

The temporary closure of the Tema Office of the DVLA affected revenue for the authority, given that it is one of its busiest branches, serving hundreds of customers on a daily basis.

The Tema office serves clients within the Tema and Dawhenya areas and sometimes those from as far as Prampram and Ada.

Information gathered by the Daily Graphic team indicated that robbers, numbering about eight, one of whom was armed with an AK47 rifle and the others armed with machetes and other implements, had gained unlawful entry into the DVLA premises at the Tema Heavy Industrial Area.

The robbers managed to take hostage the three security guards of Lion Security Company who were on duty and tied them up.

Cash

The robbers then broke into the banking hall, the accounts office, the regional manager's office, the examination hall and three other rooms in Block A and ransacked the drawers.

The robbers were reported to have damaged a metal safe in the account's office and made away with about GH¢70,000, an official of the authority told the Daily Graphic.

They also stole GH¢7,500 from the regional manager's office.

No money was, however, stolen from the Ecobank Agency located in the banking hall of the DVLA.

The police would not give any details, apart from indicating that the issue was reported in the morning of Thursday and that they had visited the crime scene.

Officials of the Forensic Unit of the Ghana Police Service had visited the scene to conduct investigations into the matter.