Two Armed Robbers Nabbed

The Crime Services Department of the Liberia National police, Ganta Detail, has charged two young men with ‘Armed Robbery’, after breaking through a store in the Blagay Town Community in Ganta and made away with about L$671,000  two weeks ago.

According to the police charge sheet, the two men, Abel Suah, 27 and Emmanuel Nah, on the night of July 26, 2021, the two men used a drill, scissors and other silent weapons to subdue a private guard before penetrating the wall with the drill to enter the main store, where they took away the stipulated amount along with about US$17,000.

The two men, who wore face masks, pointed the drill to a 54yr old man, who was serving guard at the time, and taped the man’s mouth shut to avoid him from talking. They also threatened him that if he talked, they would kill him. They then drilled the solid wall, where they were able to penetrate the house and took the money.

“At about midnight on July 26, 2021, the two men came to my guard post under the pretense of going home. After we had lectured for a few minutes, I told them that I was leaving,” Mohammed Korgbay, the security guard told police.

“As soon as I turned my back, they pointed what appeared to be a gun at me and asked me to open the door. After I opened the door to where we keep our working materials, they taped my mouth and warned that if I attempted to blow an alarm, they would kill me,” he added.

The CSD explained that the men drilled the wall from inside the building, where they took the security and broke through the wall to the inside of the main and took away the money.

According to the voluntary statements of both Abel Suah, and Emmanuel Nah with the police, they admitted to the crime or to pointing the drill to frighten the man with a gun and, later, having taped his mouth before drilling the wall.

They also admitted taking the amount in, question, and said they used L$17,000 as transportation to Guinea, where they also gave about L$108,000 to medicine or witch doctor/sandcutter to close the case and they divided the balance.

Upon their arrest on August 1, 2021, they are yet to produce any of the money to police, but police managed to locate or retrieve some valuable clothing, phone and other items which were allegedly bought using the money.

The police also retrieved some of the weapons they used to perpetrate the crime.

The owner of the store, Mr. Alvin Paye, told police that a similar incident happened on October 29, 2020, where the perpetrator made away with about US$17,000 along with L$220,000.

The wave of criminal activity resulting from hijacking and armed robbery is terrifying Ganta in recent times, making the commercially busy city to go to bed as early as 9:00 p.m. in some quarters.

The CDS said it was somehow difficult to immediately identify the perpetrators when the incident was reported, because the alleged perpetrators were using masks. However, the area of the wall that was broken into was the area where the goods (rice) were not packed.

The CDS explained that they asked the store owner to bring all those who loaded rice in the store from the truck and when they were brought, these two were identified through interrogation.