Man arrested for attempting to sell stolen vehicle

The Upper West Regional Police Command has arrested a middle-aged man in Wa after he had attempted to sell a Toyota Hilux pick-up he had allegedly stolen from his employers.

Kojo Mensah has since been handed over to the police at Bekwai in the Ashanti Region, where the case was originally reported.

According to the Staff Officer of the Upper West Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mr Edmund Nyamekye, Mensah was employed as a driver by Ibrahim Seidu Enterprise, a mining company operating at Asante Bekwai.

He said Mensah suddenly put up the said vehicle, with registration number GM 4942–12, for sale at Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region, where he had absconded to with the car.

“The police in Wa got information about the issue and one of our men feigned interest in buying the car at GH¢15,000, although Mensah had priced it at GH¢10,000,” he said.

“That lured the suspect to Wa, where he hoped to dispose of the car quickly for cash and it was at that point we arrested him,” he explained.

Salary arrears

The police said upon interrogation, Mensah said the company owed him several months’ salary arrears and that he tried to sell the car to cover the unpaid salaries.

Mr Nyamekye, who is also the acting Public Relations Officer of the Upper West Regional Police Command, said his outfit sent word to the police across the country on the arrest of the car thief to help trace the owners.

“It was at that point that the police in Asante Bekwai informed us about the reported case of the stolen vehicle,” he said.

Both Mensah and the car had been moved to Asante Bekwai for further investigations, he indicated.