Nigerien, 19, busted for stealing Gridco cables

An intelligence led operation by the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) and the Ghana Police has led to the arrest of a Nigerien and a Ghanaian for allegedly stealing fiber optic cables belonging to Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo).

A credible source available to The Chronicle revealed that,the two, Simon Kwamena Atta, a Ghanaian Cocoa Farmer and Osama Adamu,19, the Nigerien and a scrap dealer were arrested at Mpeasem, near Half Assini, in the Jomoro District on Saturday, August 19, 2023.

The team, after retrieving some of the stolen materials in the homes of the arrested persons, was led to a mud warehouse in the town, where the bulk of all the stolen materials had been kept.

All the stolen items were carried away in three trucks and are currently in the custody of the Half Assini Police, awaiting further investigations.

Until recently, there has been a growing problem where electricity cables carrying electricity, communication and transportation signals have been targeted by criminals, to steal and sell off to make money, with some dying in the process as a result of electrocution.

These thefts result in serious consequences that include power outages, communication disruptions and transportation delays that can negatively affect economic growth of the country in the long run.

Various reports has revealed a lot of cable theft convictions in the past years, including the 28 year old driver, Kofi Oduro, who was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in hard labor by the Asokwa Circuit Court, for stealing cables valued GH¢27,932.00 in May, 2023.

The Odumase-Krobo Circuit Court in May, this year,convicted a man, William Ntow, to a 7-year prison sentence, after he was found guilty of stealing Vodafone telecommunication cables in the area.

The Electricity Company of Ghana and other related institutions facing these problems have on several occasions appealed to the general public to help end cable stealing, as the menace is creating an unending burden on the society.

Scource: Chronicle