COP IN HIGHWAY ROBBERY (MIRROR FRONT PAGE)

Gold robbery on the highway
Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Sekondi
A Policeman and three civilians at Tarkwa Municipality in the Western Region have allegedly robbed an Indian businessman of 23.4kgs of gold bars worth $600,000 after spraying his eyes with hot pepper and assaulting his driver on the highway.
After the act at about 5:30am at the weekend the four then bolted in a waiting taxi cab and later went into a ditch but manage to escape with the booty, a mobile phone and pistol of the businessman.
However, suspects, G/L/CPL Frank Addo and Karim Osumanu the driver of the Opel taxi cab with the registration number GR 6147 T used in the act have been arrested and placed in police custody at Sekondi, while others are currently at large.
The suspect and the accomplices were said to have been monitoring the movement of the businessman and mounted an illegal road check at Bonsaso highway near the defunct Bonsa-Tyres where policeman stopped the vehicle of the businessman for a routine check.
The businessman, Mr Ashok Kothari, told the police that, he did not suspect anything criminal intent since it was a policeman who was stopping them.
He said the policeman walked to his side and ordered the driver to open the back door and that before the driver could open the door; the policeman kicked the driver in the abdomen and gave him blow on the face which sent the driver to the floor.
The businessman said before he could go to the aid of the driver the four sprayed his eyes with pepper and struggle with him over the bag.
Mr Kothari said he was over powered after the handle of the bag removed and they run into the waiting taxi with the gold bars and sped off.
The businessman said he managed to clean the pepper and chased them until they branched off the highway on a feeder road leading to one of the villages.
“I managed to ram into the rear of the taxi pushing it to ditch but before we could get to where the taxi landed, they had emptied the bag and runaway with the gold,” he said.
The suspected policeman later went to his room and called one of his colleague and told him that he went on an operation and should they asked of his whereabouts, he (the friend) should tell the station commander that he went out with him.
A source told the Daily Graphic that, Frank was arrested because while the businessman was chasing them, he (Frank) was sitting in front of the taxi used in the robbery and told the officer on duty on the highway that there were late for an operation.
Frank, who according to his unit, was detailed for bank guard duties at 7am at the weekend in their multi-coloured camouflage uniform, but because of the struggle and the bush he waded thought to get to his bungalow, he reported to work in the black uniform instead.
He was later identified and arrested together with the taxi driver are currently helping the Regional CID in their investigations and the search for his accomplices.