Five suspected robbers believed to belong to a scraps stealing syndicate operating in some parts of the country, have been arrested.
The suspects whose names are being held for security reasons, have, for some months now, cut into pieces of earth moving machines and other heavy equipment, such as crashers, that were handed over to the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) by the Limex Bau Construction firm.
Limex Bau, a German construction firm, was contracted by government to rehabilitate the roads in Kumasi between 1999 and 2004.
The company had its workshop at Sepe, near the Kumasi Airport roundabout, where the equipment was kept.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Godwin Ahyiano, Ashanti Regional Head of the Police Public Affairs Unit, confirmed the arrest to the Ghanaian Times here saying the suspects operated deep in the night.
He said two articulated trucks loaded with scraps have also been impounded by the Airport District Police.
Preliminary investigation, he said, indicated that the suspects had already conveyed 14 articulated trucks of the scraps to Accra.
According to ASP Ahianyo, someone approached the police claiming he had bought the equipment for scraps but could not produce any document.
He had since not returned to the police who have stepped up their investigations into the matter.
Efforts by the Ghanaian Times, to contact the Acting Ashanti Regional Director of the GHA, Ing. Edmund Obeng, for comment did not yield any result.
FROM KINGSLEY E.HOPE, KUMASI
