Six Policemen In Trouble - One Arrested, Five On The Run

Four suspects including a policeman have been arrested for allegedly conspiring to rob two Accra businessmen of mercury valued at GH�100,000. Seven other suspects including five policemen and a man named as Frank Odei, alias Burger, believed to be the financier of the robbery, are on the run. An intensive search has been mounted by the police to arrest them. The four apprehended suspects have been identified as Lance Corporal Charles Grantson, aged 32, of the Teshie Police, Owuraku Amofa Appiah, 34, Oduro Danso, 32, and Kofi Adjei, 35. All the 10 kegs of mercury which were allegedly stolen by the policemen and their civilian accomplices from the two businessmen have been retrieved by the police. Mercury is the only metal in liquid form. It is used in thermometers, barometers and other instruments. It can also be used to extract gold. According to the Tesano Divisional Police Commander, ACOP Emmanuel Ashong Bossoh, on Friday, April 20, 2012 at about 4:30 pm, Kwesi Larbi, a businessman, and his brother, Samuel Larbi, reported to the police that they had been robbed by some policemen and civilians of 10 kegs of mercury. He said the Larbi brothers had been dealing in the product for sometime now. According to the police, the two complainants claimed to have had a call from a friend that some businessmen were looking for mercury to buy. They, therefore, hired a taxi from Teshie to Achimota Christian Village, behind the Pure Fire Miracle Ministry, to deliver 10 kegs of mercury to the supposed businessmen. In the course of the transaction, one of the businessmen made a call supposedly to his bankers for more money to enable them to purchase all the 10 kegs which were being sold for GH�10,000 each. ACOP Bossoh said unknown to the Larbi brothers, Odei, alias Burger, had called in the police and suddenly five policemen arrived in two taxis while Lance Corporal Grantson also arrived at the scene on a motorbike. All six policemen, who were armed, informed the two complainants that they were under arrest for possessing bombs. They tried to explain to the policemen that the products were not bombs but mercury but the police went ahead to arrest them together with the taxi driver they had hired from Teshie to the area. They were then bundled into one of the taxis on the pretext of sending them to the Achimota Mile 7 Police Station. On the way to the police station, the police dropped the two brothers and the taxi driver at a point and drove off, leaving them stranded. They rushed to the Tesano Police Station to lodge a complaint against the police. Apparently, the driver of the taxi that was hired by the Larbi brothers knew Lance Corporal Grantson so he informed the police and led them to the Teshie Police Barracks where he was arrested. Upon interrogation he denied knowing the five other policemen, claiming he was called to the scene by Burger. But later, he gave the names of the other suspects as Oduro Danso, aged 34, a taxi driver; Owuraku Amofa Appiah, a car dealer at Debeck Motors at Haatso; Frank Odei, alias Burger, the financier and buyer of the mercury, and Kofi Agyei, who connected the sellers to the buyers. According to ACOP Bossoh, the suspects drove the stolen taxi and the other two taxis to a washing bay at Tabora Alhaji, where they shared the booty among themselves. According to the commander, four kegs of the mercury were retrieved from Danso and Appiah while the other six kegs were retrieved from Burger, who managed to escape arrest. He said the police went to Burger�s house, following the arrest of the policeman and the two others, but he was not there and his wife told them that her husband had gone out. Hearing that the police were looking for him, Burger allegedly took the six kegs of the mercury to a spot behind Georgia Motors at Tesano and called to inform the police. But by the time they got to Tesano, Burger had already bolted, leaving the mercury behind. The four suspects are to appear before court today charged with robbery.