Wassa-Nkran:A small-scale miner has been fined GHS7,200.00 by the Tarkwa Circuit Court for breaking into a gold buying shop in the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipality.
According to Ghana News Agency, the miner, Romanus Bangter, aged 19, faces a two-year prison sentence if he fails to pay the fine. Bangter pleaded guilty to charges of causing unlawful damage and unlawful entry and was convicted based on his plea.
The prosecution, led by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Joseph Lartey, informed the court, presided over by Her Honour Bernice Mensima Ackon, that the complainant, Mathias Dagwine, also a small-scale miner and gold buyer, lived in Wassa-Nkran with Bangter. On the night of July 17, 2026, Dagwine locked his shop after work and went to bed.
ASP Lartey stated that around 100 am on July 18, 2026, a witness informed Dagwine that thieves had broken into his shop. Dagwine, along with the town's unit committee chairman, rushed to the scene and discovered that Bangter had cut open the metal container to enter the shop with intent to steal.
The complainant and the committee chairman apprehended Bangter and handed him over to the Aboso police, where a formal complaint was lodged. Bangter admitted to the crime in his investigation caution statement and led the police to the crime scene, demonstrating how he committed the act.