A 19-year-old Nigerian and a Ghanaian have been detained as a result of the National Intelligence Bureau’s (NIB) and Ghanaian police service’s combined efforts for allegedly stealing fiber optic cables from the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), according to the Chronicle newspaper.
According to a source, the two men—Ghanaian cocoa farmer Simon Kwamena Atta and Nigerian scrap dealer Osama Adamu—were detained on August 19, 2023, at Mpeasem, close to Half Assini in the Jomoro District, which was sighted by 1Family Radio.
After recovering some of the stolen items from the homes of the arrested individuals, the team, which included the NIB and the police, also found a mud house where the majority of the stolen items were stashed.
All the stolen items were conveyed in three trucks and are currently in the custody of the Half Assin police, awaiting investigation, the news paper added.
Due to their profitability, criminals have recently targeted transportation signals and electricity cables.
However, the serious consequences of these thefts, such as power outages, communication problems, and transportation delays, have a long-term negative impact on the nation’s economic development.
There have been reports of theft convictions in the past years, for instance, Odumase-Krobo, when the Circuit Court convicted a man, William Ntow, to a 7-year prison sentence after he was found culpable of stealing cables bleonging to Vodafone.
The Electricity Company of Ghana has appealed to the general public to help end cable stealing as it creates an unending burden on society.
Source: 1Familyradio