Two men who planned to rob commuters on the Asankra Saah-Asankragwa Road in the Wassa Amenfi West Municipality of the Western Region have been handed 15 years’ imprisonment each with hard labour by the Tarkwa Circuit Court.

They are Mohammed Abdul Salam, 28, and Karim Yakubu, 42, both of whom are unemployed.

They pleaded guilty to conspiracy, preparation to commit a crime and possession of arms and ammunition without authority.

Prosecuting, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Samuel Ahiabor, stated that the complainant is from the Asankragwa Divisional Police Command, while the convicts are natives of Savelugu and Tamale, respectively.

He said Salam and Yakubu said they travelled from their hometowns to Asankra Saah near Asankragwa to prospect for gold, but they decided to engage in armed robbery instead.

On April 14, 2025, the two men, armed with one locally manufactured single-barrel shotgun with AAA live cartridges, hid themselves under a tree in the nearby bush close to the Asankra Saah-Asankragwa road to rob passengers using that route.

ASP Ahiabor said on April 15, 2025, around 0310 hours, the Asankragwa night patrol police team, who were on their normal patrol duty, spotted the convicts sitting on a tree stump in a bush.

He said the four officers on board decided to alight from the vehicle, but in the process, Salam and Yakubu noticed they were armed police officers and attempted to escape.

Prosecution said the two men got trapped in an abandoned mining pit filled with mud, and the police officers who were chasing them rescued and arrested both.

He said when the police searched them, they found one locally manufactured single-barrel shotgun loaded with one live AAA cartridge on Salam, while two live cartridges and one Nokia keypad mobile phone were in Yakubu’s pocket.

ASP Ahiabor informed the court that further investigation conducted by the police revealed that Salam provided the locally manufactured shotgun with three live AAA cartridges for the operation.