A 32-year-old national security operative and two others have been put before an Accra Circuit Court for possessing a pump action gun without lawful authority.
The gun was allegedly concealed in a car during a snap check conducted by the police on 25 December, this year in Osu in the Greater Accra Region.
The accused persons are Dawood Akwasi Agyemang, the national security operative and a chief, Chris Mawunyo Oteiku, a 28-year-old trader, and Joshua Kwame Gbeti, a 27-year-old entrepreneur.
Charged with possessing firearms without lawful authority, the accused persons have pleaded not guilty.
The court presided over by Evelyn Asamoah has admitted them to bail in the sum of GHC250,000 with three sureties.
The sureties are to be public servants earning not less than GHC3,000 a month.
The court further ordered the accused persons to be reporting to the police every first Wednesday in a month until directed otherwise.
The matter has been adjourned to 12 January 2023.
Earlier, counsels for the accused persons took turns to argue for bail saying they were not flight risk, had fixed places of abode and had people of substance ready to stand as sureties for them.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Maxwell Oppong opposed to the grant of bail saying documents covering the weapon were not genuine and that the weapon had been fired severally.
ASP Oppong told the court that the police would like to take fingerprints of the accused persons to ascertain if they marched with what the police had in their system.
The prosecution further held that there were other weapons that were found in the car of the accused persons.
It said during a search, the police found clubs, nails among others in the car.
The prosecution recounted how people had been using flashlights on their vehicles illegally to outwit the police, adding “it takes experienced police officers to fish such people out.”
Narrating the facts of the case, the prosecution said on 25 December, this year, at about 0140 hours, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and some members of the police management board visited the Oxford Street at Osu to interact with the public.
The prosecution said during the interaction, some police officers spotted the accused Chris Otieku, who was driving a blue-black Toyota Tundra with registration number WY 1088-20, driving with security flashlights.
The prosecution told the court that “this attracted the attention of the officers and the vehicle was quickly intercepted”.
During a search in the car, the prosecution said, a pump action gun with serial number PS 33743 was found concealed in the vehicle.
The prosecution said Otieku and Joshua Kwame Gbeti who were in the vehicle were arrested and sent to the Cantonments Police Station.
During investigations, the prosecution said Dawood Akwasi Agyemang, a national security operative showed up and produced documents of the pump action gun, but they were detected to be invalid.
The prosecution said Agyemang who also claimed ownership of the gun was arrested.
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