A 29-year-old electrician, Samuel Ledi, alias "Corn Dealer," has been sentenced to three years imprisonment by the Hohoe Circuit Court for stealing a lady’s handbag containing GH₵40,000. Tsikata, a suspect in the case, is currently at large.

On July 17, 2024, Ledi appeared before the court, presided over by Mr. Michael Johnson Abbey, where he was charged with the offense and pleaded not guilty. However, after a full trial, Ledi was found guilty, convicted, and sentenced.

Chief Inspector Charles Aziati, prosecuting, informed the court that Ledi was a “known” offender, having previously committed a similar offense in 2021, where he stole a bag containing money and a phone, which led to a two-year imprisonment.

He, therefore, urged the court to impose a severe punishment.

The complainant, a fish trader at the Hohoe market, had gone to the market on May 22, 2023, and placed her red bag, valued at GH₵200 and containing GH₵40,000, in a carton under her table. Around 1:00 p.m. that day, she discovered the bag was missing and reported the theft to the police, leading to the arrest of two suspects.

During the investigation, Ledi informed the police that Tsikata and another friend were responsible for the theft and offered to assist in locating them in Ashaiman. However, after two days of searching, the suspects were not found.

On June 6, 2023, the complainant and her husband informed the police that reliable information indicated that Ledi was involved in the theft, leading to his arrest. On June 14, 2023, Ledi and two other suspects were brought before the Hohoe Circuit Court and remanded into police custody for further investigation.

On June 24, 2023, a witness, who had shared a cell with Ledi, informed the police that Ledi had confessed to leading Tsikata and another accomplice in the theft. He admitted that he only took the police officers to Ashaiman as a strategy to mislead them.

On July 14, 2023, a 13-year-old witness told police that he had been instructed by Ledi to steal the complainant’s bag.

An identification parade was conducted at the Hohoe Police Station, during which the witness identified Ledi as the one who sent him to commit the theft.

Following advice from the Attorney General’s Office, Ledi was formally charged with theft.