An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced a driver to eight years imprisonment in hard labour for attempting to kidnap a father and daughter for ransom.
Godfred Ayittey denied conspiring with Wang Liang in preparation to kidnap the two for ransom, but after trial, he was found culpable.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Emmanuel Nyamekye earlier told the Court presided over by Mrs. Afia Owusua Appiah that on August 3, 2022, one Richard Asomaning, a witness in the case, reported to Tema Police that Ayittey, now a convict, recruited him on the phone to engage in kidnapping and asked that Asomaning (the witness) recruit a competent driver for them to undertake such an operation for ransom.
DSP Nyamekye said the witness feigned interest in the act and forwarded copies of his driver’s license and Ghana card, as well as that of one Peter Ofoe Agbovie, a friend to the first witness, whom he had just recruited for the convict. The witnesses then requested a meeting with the convict to know who their victim or victims were, he told the Court.
The prosecution said the convict mentioned the victims to the witnesses as Mr. Joseph K. Horgle, the owner of J. K. Horgle Transport and Company Limited at Kpone, and his daughter Elinam, who is also the Deputy Managing Director of the same company.
Ayittey never met the witnesses in person; he only communicated with them on the phone. DSP Nyamekye said Tema Police sought the assistance of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) to help investigate the case, thus, witnesses were interviewed at the NIB, and it emerged that the witnesses had opened communication with the convict, and a WhatsApp group platform was created by the convict for the operation.
The Court heard that Ayittey, the convict, provided fifty Ghana cedis (GHC50.00) to Asomaning to commence surveillance on either of the victims, and initial photographs of the company’s premises were taken and sent to the convict.
Agbovie, DSP Nyamekye said, was asked by the convict to rent a vehicle, while he (the convict) procured guns for the operation.
The prosecution said the convict was tracked and arrested on August 09, 2022, and he admitted to the offense and indicated that one Wang, a Chinese he worked with at DADA Foods, engineered the kidnapping.
Investigations revealed that the convict had worked at the intended victim’s Company from 2017 to 2018 as a driver and knew the former boss had the financial muscle to pay any ransom using Cryptocurrency to Wang LIANG’s account in China to avoid detection.
He said Asomaning had earlier posted his particulars, including his phone number, on Jiji online seeking a job as a driver.
The accused person picked the first witness’ phone number from the site and contacted him for the job as a driver, and when he agreed, he changed the topic from employment to kidnapping.
DSP Nyamekye said Ayittey also asked Asomaning to use the same conduit to recruit another person. After the investigation, Ayittey was charged with the offense.
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