Seven armed robbers, arrested at the outskirts of Sandema in the Upper East Region on January 27, 2008, were last Friday handed a total sentence of 175 years in hard labour by a Bolgatanga Circuit Court. Each of the seven, namely Mohammed Musah, also known as Musah Brock, Malik Mohammed, otherwise called Amoah, Adams Mohammed Yerimiah, Iddrisu Salia, Abdulai Amandu, Bawa Mohammed, also known as Bawa Whisky and Stephen Morris, will spend 25 years in jail. They were charged with conspiracy, possession of firearms without authority, preparation to commit crime, and being in possession of implements intended and adapted for unlawful entry. They all pleaded not guilty. The prosecution had told the court presided over by Mr William Boapong that on January 27, last year, the Sandemna Police had a tip-off that the accused persons were travelling from Fumbisi to Sandema on a private Opel Astra car suspected of planning to commit crime. Consequently, a team of six armed policemen, led by Detective Inspector Douglas Manu, who were deployed to trail them, arrested them at the outskirts of Sandema. A search on the accused and the vehicle, according to the prosecution, revealed one SMG rifle, 28 live ammunition, two pieces of hypodermic syringes and needles and two crow-bars. Other items found on them were seven mobile phones, two pairs of scissors, two car jacks, four cartridges, an iron bar, two masks, a military uniform and three helmets. Source: The Ghanaian Times