A Wenchi Magistrate Court, presided over by His Worship Issa Abdul Wahab, has remanded a 28-year-old police station cleaner, Joseph Adinkra, into custody for two weeks.
Adinkra is accused of stealing an AK-47 service rifle, with serial number AE 405323, and an SMG magazine loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition, valued at GH¢52,834.99. The incident occurred at the Wenchi Police Station in the Bono Region on January 3, 2025.
According to Prosecutor Detective Inspector John Agyare, Adinkra, who resides in Akrobi, a suburb of Wenchi, exploited a brief absence of duty officers during his morning cleaning duties to steal the rifle.
He concealed the weapon in his clothes and later hid it in an old Ecola bag placed in a tricycle’s bucket near the charge office. The theft was discovered when the station’s armorer attempted to secure all returned rifles in the armory.
Following the discovery, Chief Inspector Seth Agyei, the station officer, filed a formal complaint, leading to Adinkra’s arrest. Initially, Adinkra denied any involvement but later confessed to the crime during police interrogation.
He disclosed that a friend had promised to pay him GH¢7,000 if he could procure a weapon for use in galamsey activities. The stolen rifle and ammunition were subsequently retrieved.
The court adjourned the case to January 21, 2025, as investigations continue to determine the identity of the potential buyer and the motive behind the attempted sale.
The accused remains in police custody awaiting trial.
