Military officer, 7 others remanded over fuel tanker robbery
An Accra Circuit Court has remanded seven people, including a military officer, for allegedly robbing a fuel tanker driver of his vehicle and diesel.
Corporal Bernard Bortey, a soldier at the Teaching and Doctrine College of the Ghana Armed Forces, is charged alongside two fugitives, Raphel Amartey and one Arhin. Bortey was arrested while allegedly attempting to siphon the stolen fuel. He denied conspiring with the fugitives.
The other accused, Mark Abito, Ganiu Abdulai, Atiiga Barnabas, Awini Ibrahim, Muniru Ayibo, and Shaibu Adams pleaded not guilty to abetment.
Several suspects remain at large. The case, presided over by Mr Samuel Bright Acquah, continues on August 25, 2025.
Prosecutor ASP Issah Achiburi said complainant, Jerry Kwaw, a driver with Petroland Limited, was transporting fuel from Tema to Kumasi on August 6, 2025, when Bortey and four others trailed his tanker. At Pampaso Number One, they allegedly intercepted the vehicle, held him at gunpoint, handcuffed him and his mate, and forced them into a green pickup (GX 2881-22).
The tanker was taken to PACIFIC Fuel Station at Bunso Junction. The next day, police at Ablekuma Borkorborkor arrested Bortey in uniform after the victims raised an alarm. Further arrests at Bunso Junction found suspects transferring the diesel into another tanker (GN 804-13). Both vehicles were impounded.
ASP Achiburi said the robbery was pre-planned, with suspects using two vehicles to track the tanker. Bortey allegedly admitted the crime. The court ordered the release of the recovered tanker and fuel for safety reasons. —GNA
