The Accra Circuit Court, presided over by relieving judge His Honour Samuel Bright Acquah, has remanded a soldier and six others into police custody over their alleged involvement in the robbery of a fuel tanker carrying 54,000 litres of diesel valued at GH¢769,500.
The accused are Cpl. Bortey Bernard, a serving soldier at the Teaching and Doctrine College of the Ghana Armed Forces; Mark Abito, a fuel tanker driver; Ganiu Abdulai, a driver; Atiiga Banabas, unemployed; and tanker driver’s mates Awini Ibrahim, Muniru Ayebo, and Shaibu Adams.
Four other suspects, including Raphael Amartey and a man identified as Arhin, remain at large.
All seven accused pleaded not guilty to various charges, including conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery, kidnapping, and abetment of robbery.
The prosecution, led by ASP Issah holding brief for ASP Emmanuel Haligah, prayed the court to remand the accused to allow further investigations and to apprehend the remaining suspects.
Prosecutors told the court that on August 6, 2025, at about 10:00 p.m., Cpl. Bernard and four others now at large trailed a fuel tanker travelling from Tema to Kumasi.
They allegedly intercepted the vehicle at Pampaso Number 1 in the Eastern Region, crossed it at gunpoint, and forced the driver, Jerry Kawuo, and his mate into a green pickup truck with registration number GX 2881-22.
The robbed tanker, a DAF diesel truck with registration number GT-2493-20, was driven to the Pacific Fuel Station at Bunso Junction, where the diesel was being pumped into another empty tanker.
Police arrested Cpl. Bernard at the Ablekuma Borkorborkor snap checkpoint after the kidnapped victims raised an alarm. Follow-up operations led to the arrest of the other accused at Bunso Junction, where they were allegedly caught using a pumping machine to transfer the stolen diesel.
The court also granted a request by the prosecution for the release of the seized fuel tanker to its owners, Petroline Limited, represented in court by operations manager Appiah Kubi.
The prosecution argued that keeping the tanker in open weather at the Kyebi Police Station posed safety risks.
The accused are to reappear on August 25, 2025, while police continue the search for the remaining suspects.
