Gold Buyer Robbers Jailed 22 Years
The Bekwai Circuit Court in the Ashanti Region has sentenced three men involved in the robbery of a gold buyer at Adansi Akwaaku near New Edubiase to prison terms ranging from 15 to 22 years.
The convicts are Eric Afful alias Nana Yeboah, 21, a commercial motorcycle rider; Abdul Ganiu, 24, also a commercial motorcycle rider; and David Mensah alias Rasta, 26, unemployed.
Afful, the first accused, and Mensah, the third accused, were each sentenced to 22 years imprisonment, while Ganiu, the second accused, was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.
The sentences are to run concurrently.
The court, presided over by Isaac Apietu, convicted the three after they pleaded guilty to the charges.
Prosecuting, Detective Chief Inspector Eric Okyere told the court that the complainant, Derrick Arthur, is a gold buyer residing at Adansi Nkrankese and was a friend of Afful.
The court heard that on September 3, 2026, the three accused persons met at Mensah’s residence at Kojo Mankrong, where Afful reportedly disclosed that he was urgently looking for money to settle a GH¢2,000 debt owed to one Ben.
Afful allegedly proposed that they rob Arthur, whom he knew regularly carried gold and cash while conducting his business.
Ganiu and Mensah reportedly agreed to the plan.
Later that evening, at about 8:00 p.m., Arthur called Afful to pick him up from Nkrankesse to Ataase Nkwanta for a mobile money transaction.
Afful allegedly informed his accomplices and picked them up before taking them to a cocoa farm along the Akwaaku road, where they hid and waited for him to return with the complainant.
According to the prosecution, as Afful approached the hideout with Arthur on his motorcycle, he deliberately slowed down and veered towards the location where Ganiu and Mensah were waiting.
Ganiu allegedly attacked Arthur with a cassava stick and forcibly snatched his backpack.
The backpack contained a digital mining scale valued at GH¢1,500, melting gas valued at GH¢800, two pounds of gold valued at GH¢22,000, and GH¢10,000 cash.
When Arthur attempted to pursue Ganiu, Mensah allegedly pulled a cutlass on him and took his iPhone 12 Mini valued at GH¢2,500 before fleeing into the cocoa farm.
Ganiu and Mensah later allegedly met inside the farm and took the stolen items to Mensah’s house, where they spent the night.
Arthur subsequently returned to join Afful on his motorcycle before boarding another motorcycle to the police barrier at Kojo Mankrong, where he reported the incident.
The following morning, police arrested Mensah at Apagya after he allegedly confessed to the crime and led investigators to arrest Afful at Obonsu and Ganiu at Asonkore.
Police retrieved GH¢2,000 from Afful, GH¢2,000 from Ganiu, and an iPhone 12 Mini together with GH¢2,705 from Mensah.
The accused persons also led the police to the cocoa farm, where the complainant’s backpack was retrieved.
However, the two pounds of gold valued at GH¢22,000 were missing.
The three accused persons were subsequently charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, abetment of robbery and robbery.
They pleaded guilty to the charges before the court.
The court consequently sentenced Afful and Mensah to 22 years imprisonment each, while Ganiu was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, with the sentences to run concurrently.
