Unknown gunmen in the afternoon of Monday, this week, shot and killed a car dealer/auto mechanic at Tema Community 22.
Ongoing police investigation has revealed that the assailants, prior to committing the heinous crime, lured the car dealer to the Community 22 Polyclinic and posed as a medical doctor at the facility.
The deceased, 33-year old James Tetteh Larweh is survived by a wife and two kids, aged 6 years and seven months respectively.
Narrating the incident to The Chronicle, Mr Felix Tetteh Batcha, brother of the dead mechanic, stated that sometime last Saturday, April 23, 2022 he received a call from someone who introduced himself as a medical doctor at the Tema Community 22 Polyclinic.
The said caller, he said, expressed interest in an Elantra vehicle, on which he had pasted a ‘For Sale’ poster, with his contact number. In the cause of the discussion, the supposed doctor declined interest in the Elantra and opted for a Rav 4, which was also available.
According to Mr Batcha, from his base in Kumasi, he instructed his now deceased brother and another to proceed to the Polyclinic with the Rav 4 for inspection by the prospective buyer.
At the medical facility, the discussion extended to how to register the vehicle, which he Mr Batcha, reached a contact at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) for assistance, for which a Form C was provided for him to fill.
The said doctor, on Monday, again called to say that he was ready to pay cash and that they should bring the vehicle to the Polyclinic, which was done.
He went on that each time his brother drove the car and parked at the garage, it takes a while for the said doctor to surface from an unknown direction.
In this instance, he claimed that since he was busy at the theatre, he wanted another person to go with them to his house, which is nearby, for his passport size pictures to help complete the DVLA Form C and use the same period to test the vehicle.
On their way, the driver stopped at an obscure corner, got down and was making a call, but the deceased suspected that something funny could happen.
He then moved from the passenger seat and sat behind the steering wheel. Mr Batcha was by this time on the line with the person who accompanied the deceased and suddenly, motor bikes appeared from nowhere to his end of the steering wheel.
They demanded the ignition key, which he refused to hand over to them, and in the ensuing scuffle he threw the key into the bush. Angered by this act, the men on the motor bikes fired at him instantly and they sped off.
Reports gathered on the ground reveal that a group of worshippers close to the scene realised that the Rav 4 went to park and a few minutes later, the bikers arrived and engaged in a scuffle with the occupant of the car.
But as some of the worshippers were moving towards the scene, the gun men fired warning shots and threatened to shoot anyone who dared come closer. They had to ran helter-skelter for fear of their lives.
It was when they later got to the scene that they found Larweh lying motionless on the floor. The incident was then reported to the police.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, who personally called to commiserate with the bereaved family, dispatched a team of Consellors from the Police Headquarters to the home at Ashaiman Lebanon for assistance.
Dr Dampare, speaking to The Chronicle, announced a GHC 20,000.00 (Twenty Thousand Ghana Cedis) reward for any information that would lead to the apprehension of the perpetrators of the crime. More anon.
