The Managing Director of Trassaco Limited, Morris Ian, current on the run, has been indicted for allegedly hiring the services of land guards to terrorise another estate developer, TOP Kings, and its customers in Accra.
Mr. Ian was said to have been hiring the services of the land guards from one Dr. Botwe, who is also nowhere to be found.
However, the police have managed to arrest and put before an Accra Circuit, presided over by Samuel Bright Acquah, five persons believed to be land guards recruited by Dr. Botwe for the Managing Director of Trassaco Limited.
These persons are Akuribilla Annanfo, 40, Razak Seidu, 28, Abdallah Abdul Fatau, 40, Baah Samuel, 38, and Francis Avegbedo, 38, and they are all security men.
The accused persons were arraigned before the court last week Friday on four different accounts – conspiracy to commit crime namely causing unlawful damage, preparation for committing certain criminal offences, causing unlawful damage and prohibition of activities of land guards. Nonetheless, they have all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The court, after a careful analysis of the arguments on bail raised by the counsel for the accused persons, Anthony Lartey, led by Martin Kpebu, and the prosecution, remanded the five into police custody to reappear before it today, August 30, 2022.
The brief facts read to the court by the police prosecuting officer, indicated that the case was reported to the police by the General Manager of TOP Kings, Benjamin Kwame Danso (complainant).
The court was informed that somewhere in 1999, the Empire Builders Limited took the complainant and others to court but case was settled on December 16, 2020, in favour of Mr Danso and others.
It was alleged that despite the complainant and others winning the case, they continued to suffer at the hands of the accused persons and their manager, Dr. Botwe, who recruited them as land guards for the Trassaco Estate.
And that since the judgement could not put the matter to rest, a series of complaints were lodged with the police in relation to the case.
Thus on August 17, 2021, the police received information that Dr. Botwe and Morris Ian allegedly agreed for a meeting to be held between the latter and three of the accused persons – Abdullah, Baah, and one Hamid Musah @ Alhaji, at large.
It was concluded at the alleged meeting between the four that Morris Ian wanted to take over land which belonged to the complainant and his company.
Morris Ian was said to have sealed the meeting by paying cash of GH¢41,000.00, and further issued GH¢50,000.00 Access Bank cheque to Abdullah on behalf of the land guards.
In furtherance of this, Morris Ian was alleged to have put Abdullah, Baah, and Hamid Musah in his Range Rover vehicle, and drove them to the complainant’s site to demolish the buildings on the land.
As a result, on August 1 this year, police patrol teams, assisted by a witness in the case, who also is a night security man, to arrested Akrubilla Annanfo and Seidu Razak. At the time of the arrest, one pump action gun and ten rounds of BB cartridges were found on Akrubilla.
Similarly, a spot interrogation conducted by the police patrol team discloses that Akrubilla and Seidu were all working for Morris Ian who is the General Manager of Trassaco Limited.
Fast forward, on August 17, 2022, the Regional Command received information that the Managing Director of Trassaco and Dr. Botwe were recruiting land guards to go and demolish the buildings of TOP King and their customers.
The court was informed that based upon this information, police patrol teams were dispatched to the area where the accused were alleged mobilising to attack the complainant, but before the police could reach there they had information and left.
On August 24, the police again received information that the accused persons, led by Abdullah, were mobilising the land guards to go and demolish buildings of the complainant and his customers.
A police patrol team was once again dispatched to the area and arrested Akrubilla and Hamid, but the others escaped.
The court was informed that during interrogation, Abdullah and Baah admitted the offences in the presence of an independent witness, and the accused persons were charged with the offences and arraigned before court.
Efforts are underway to apprehend the other suspects at large.
