The Tema Circuit Court has sentenced two persons involved in the stealing of 1,146 bags of rice valued at GH₵846,000.00 to various terms of imprisonment.

Abdul Karim Abdul Aziz, a 36-year-old driver, was sentenced to five years each for the two counts of conspiracy to commit crime and stealing, while Ibrahim Mohammed, a 49-year-old transport agent, also received a 12-year jail sentence each with hard labour for the same offences.

The jail terms will run concurrently.

The court, presided over by Klorkor Okai Mills, handed the accused persons the jail terms after finding them guilty of the offences after a full trial following their not guilty plea.

Chief Inspector Jacob Maalo Kuubal, prosecuting, said the complainant, Mr. Emmanuel Quaye Nartey, is a clearing agent, while Aziz is a driver, and Mohammed alias Baba Alhassan is a transport agent.

He added that an accomplice, Abdul Rahman Suleman, is currently on the run.

He stated that, on July 29, 2023, the complainant engaged the services of Aziz to cart two 20-footer containers containing 1,146 bags of master perfumed rice valued at GH₵846,000.00 from MPS Tema to be delivered at the Trade Pass Commodities warehouse near the slaughterhouse in Tema.

The prosecution added that, Aziz took delivery of the rice and loaded it onto a DAFXF truck with registration number GT 4930-14.

He added that Aziz, on his way to the warehouse met Mohammed opposite the 20 bus stop, where they decided to dishonestly appropriate the rice.

The facts stated that a police investigation revealed that Aziz and Mohammed sent the containers of rice to Prampram, where they were offloaded and sold.

Chief Inspector Kuubal said Mohammed took Aziz to the residence of one Eric Kojo Asiedu, a witness in the case, where Aziz passed two nights, while they looked for buyers.

Mohammed hired loading boys, including the witness, to offload the 1,146 bags of rice from the containers, and the witness was paid an amount of GH₵200.00 for his services.

He added that Aziz received an initial amount of GH₵10,000.00 as part of his share of the proceeds and absconded to Tamale, where he met his accomplice, Abdul Rahman Sulemana.

While in Temale, Aziz received an additional GH₵100,000.00 from Mohammed through Abdul Rahman Sulemana’s mobile money account as final payment for the sale of the rice.

Aziz then gave GH₵89,000.00 out of the money received to Sulemana to use in preparing travel documents for him to travel to Saudi Arabia.

According to the prosecution, further police investigation revealed that Aziz abandoned the truck at Tema Community Nine, near Flight Hotel, left the ignition key in the ignition node, and travelled to Tamale, adding that on November 20, 2023, intelligence led to his arrest from his hideout at Wassa Akropong in the Western Region.

The court heard that during the investigation, Aziz mentioned that he agreed with Mohammed and Sulemana to divert and sell the rice.

Witnesses in the case were arrested, and after investigations, the accused persons were charged with the offences and arraigned.