TAXI DRIVERS SENTENCED 16 YEARS EACH (MIRROR, PAGE 23)

Story: Nana Konadu Agyeman, Nkawkaw

TWO TAXI drivers who stole two taxi cabs belonging to their colleague taxi drivers at Nkawkaw have been sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment each with hard labour by the Mpraeso Circuit Court.
 The convicts, Yaw Antwi, alias Sammy, 25, a native of Pepease and Yaw Wiafe, 20, from Obomeng, were said to have gone to the houses of Michael Osei and Alex Ayim-Adu both at Domeabrah, suburb of Nkawkaw on January 2 and 4 and stolen two Daewoo Tico taxi cabs belonging to them.
They were said to have removed the back seat of Ayim-Adu's vehicle and abandoned it at the outskirts of Nkawkaw while Osei's vehicle was found parked at Wiafe's house at Aburi.
The two pleaded guilty to the charges of conspiracy to commit crime and stealing in the case involving the theft of Osei's vehicle and were sentenced to eight years' imprisonment on their own pleas.
They however pleaded innocent to similar charges involving Ayim-Adu's car theft but were found guilty based on sufficient evidence adduced to implicate them and sentenced to another eight year's imprisonment.
Briefing the Daily Graphic at Nkawkaw yesterday (21/01), the Nkawkaw Police District Commander, DSP Thomas Osei said on January 4, 2008, Michael Osei, the first complainant reported to the Nkawkaw Police that his taxi cab Tico Daewoo with registration number GE 242V, which was parked in his house could not be found stolen when he woke up in the morning.
DSP Osei said the complainant suspected the convicts as those who might have stolen his car, which he used the previous day after which he led the police to Antwi’s house at Nkawkaw where the convicts were arrested.
He said when the police conducted a search in the bedroom of Antwi, two car seats which were hidden under the bed were retrieved but the convicts, who claimed ownership of the items, told the police that they purchased the seats from somebody, whom they could not name.
While investigations were underway, Alex Ayim-Adu heard of the arrest of the two and came to the police station to identify the car seats as that of his stolen taxi cab.
According to the Nkawkaw District Commander, in the course of investigations, both Antwi and Wiafe admitted to stealing Osei's vehicle which according to them was driven to Wiafe's house at Aburi, where it was retrieved by the police.
They however denied ever stealing the taxi cab belonging to Ayim-Adu.