A suspected mobile phone thief, 27-year-old Awudu Baba, was arrested at a police checkpoint on the Kasoa-Bawjiase Highway in Ghana on September 19, 2026. According to the Central East Regional Police Commander, DCOP Francis Nchor, Awudu was found in possession of five smartphones of different brands, including an iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, and Samsung A12, as well as five SIM cards.
During the arrest, Awudu sensed that he was about to be caught and swallowed the SIM cards he had already removed from the phones, which were believed to have been stolen. The police said further investigations revealed that the phones had allegedly been stolen from Awutu Bawjiase in the Central Region. The police have urged anyone who may have been a victim to report to the Central East Regional Police Command for identification and collection of their property.
In a related anti-crime operation, personnel of the Operations Unit of the Central East Regional Police Command intercepted a Kia Mighty truck loaded with suspected stolen household items on September 26, 2026. The items included a king-size mattress, a kitchen cabinet, a deep freezer, seven refrigerators, a microwave, a stove, 19 sets of framed aluminium-glazed windows, nine sets of electric sockets, a knapsack spraying machine, 10 TV sockets, and two floodlights.
The truck was being driven by Patrick Haziel, and the alleged owner of the items was identified as Mohammed Sulemana. Preliminary investigations indicated that the items had been stolen from a building at Chocho, a town along the Bontrasi-Bereku road in the Central Region. Patrick Haziel confirmed that the items in the truck belonged to Mohammed Sulemana, who had fled after spotting the police approaching.
Further investigations led to the arrest of Mohammed Sulemana, who admitted to stealing the mentioned items and hiding them at Bentum, where he later hired Patrick Haziel to convey them. Mohammed Sulemana has been remanded into police custody and is expected to reappear in court on October 12, 2026. The police said one person has so far reported and identified some of the recovered items as hers.
The Central East Regional Police Command has urged other potential victims to report to the command for identification and collection of their property. In a separate case, Evans Pinkreh, alias Kwame Adjei, was arrested in September 2024 for stealing and selling about 50 live pigs from a piggery where he was employed as a caretaker.
Evans Pinkreh was convicted and sentenced to five months in prison by the Kasoa Akweley District Court on August 29, 2026. The court heard that the owner of the farm reported the incident to the police, leading to investigations and subsequent conviction.
Key points
- A 27-year-old suspected phone thief swallowed five SIM cards during his arrest on the Kasoa-Bawjiase Highway in Ghana.
- The police intercepted a truck loaded with suspected stolen household items, leading to the arrest of two suspects.
- A separate case saw a man convicted and sentenced to five months in prison for stealing and selling 50 live pigs.
