An Adentan Circuit Court has sentenced two individuals to a total of 17 years in prison for their roles in the theft of electronic gadgets valued at GH¢ 298,900 in Okponglo, Accra.
James Ugochukwu Mwobi, a 33-year-old businessman, received a 12-year sentence for charges including unlawful damage, theft, and unlawful entry.
His accomplice, Solomon Otis, 36, was sentenced to five years for conspiracy to commit a crime and dishonestly receiving stolen property.
Both defendants pleaded guilty to the charges.
Presided over by Mrs. Sedinam Awo Kwadam, the court convicted the pair based on their own admissions. An accomplice known as Awudu Mamudu, also referred to as Focus remains at large.
The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Maxwell Lanyo, informed the court that the complainant, Frederick Sackey, is a businessman who operates a shop selling laptops, mobile phones, tablets, and accessories.
On September 26, 2024, Sackey discovered that his upstairs storeroom had been burglarized after the thieves cut and damaged the burglar-proof bars on the window.
The thieves stole 91 laptops and 51 tablets, valued at GH¢ 366,200, escaping through the window with the items.
The prosecutor revealed that on September 29, 2024, one of the stolen tablets, identified by its serial number GPSZ2024070418582, was spotted on display at a showcase in the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange.
The owner of the showcase, Stephen Akwaboah, was arrested, and the tablet was recovered.
Akwaboah identified Charles Chubike Eze, a phone dealer, who was subsequently arrested.
Eze claimed that Otis sold him the stolen tablet and other items.
Otis was arrested and disclosed that he had purchased two of the tablets from an unknown individual.
Following further intelligence, on October 3, 2024, police found two laptops matching the description of the stolen items at Tiptoe Lane, Circle.
A witness, Chukuemeka Itiri, revealed that Mwobi had given him the laptops to sell.
This led to Mwobi’s arrest at Plus One Lodge, where police recovered two tablets and a laptop belonging to the complainant.
Investigations revealed that Mwobi had broken into Sackey’s storeroom on September 26, 2024, using pliers to damage the metal window bars.
He then contacted Otis and Mamudu, indicating he wanted to sell the stolen items.
On the same day, Otis and Mamudu met Mwobi at Plus One Lodge, where they received 21 tablets and 22 laptops.
Otis made an initial payment of GH¢ 1,000 before leaving with the stolen goods.
Mwobi confessed to the crime, while Otis admitted to selling 19 tablets to one Victoria Osei Praku at GH¢ 250 each, claiming they had been brought in from Dubai.
The stolen tablets were later recovered. Mamudu, upon learning of the investigation, went into hiding.
On October 4, 2024, Mwobi led the police to Sackey’s shop, confirming it as the location of the theft.
A total of 22 tablets and three laptops were recovered, and efforts are ongoing to apprehend Mamudu.
