Driver allegedly uses stolen vehicle to steal GH¢8,500 worth of fuel

The driver allegedly used a stolen vehicle to steal GH¢8,500 worth of fuel

A 36-year-old driver, Cephas Nkebuari, has appeared before the Accra Circuit, presided over by Afia Owusua Appiah, for allegedly stealing a Toyota Fortuner belonging to the Manager of Max Fiber Ghana Limited, and using the same vehicle to steal fuel at one of the Bintang Petrol stations.

The accused resident of Oyibi near Adentan in Accra was later charged with four counts of theft and possession of forged documents. The court has not taken his plea but granted him bail in the sum of GH¢100,000.00.

Quick Facts

The facts of the case as told by the Prosecuting Officer, Chief Inspector Gulliver Tenkorang, are that the complainants in the case are Florence Dotse, a fuel pump attendant at the Star Filling Station and Zhang Yang, the Manager of Max Fiber Ghana Limited.

According to him, on November 17, 2022, at approximately 04:00, Cephas drove a white Toyota Fortuner Model 2019 vehicle with a fake registration number GS 9698-22 to the aforementioned gas station with an empty ‘can of beer’ under the pretext. he is a transporter and needs fuel for his truck going to Burkina Faso to avoid fuel shortages in transit.

After the fuel attendant filled up twenty jerry cans of petrol, Cephas entered his vehicle and asked the petrol attendant to fill his vehicle with petrol, totaling GH¢8,500.00.

When the officer finished his job, Cefas pretended to park the right vehicle, but ran away without paying for the fuel. Therefore, a report was made to the Police in Baatsona, where the filling station is.

The Baatsona Police, with the help of the Police Headquarters Emergency Command Centre, were able to track the vehicle all the way to Oyibi, where the accused resided.

Cephas was arrested on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2022, and the vehicle used in the crime was also taken from his home equipped with a sophisticated siren.

A search of his room found two ‘cans’ filled with petrol and one Non-Ghanaian Identity Card in the name of Zhang Yang.

Although Cephas claimed ownership of the vehicle, he was unable to produce documents covering the possession of false papers.

A search conducted at the DVLA office also revealed that the number plate affixed to the vehicle was not genuine, as it was also established that the number was the number plate registered for a Toyota Yaris.

The investigation team continued their search to the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), where it was revealed that the importer of the vehicle was Toyota Ghana Limited and not Cephas.

Explaining how the vehicle came into the defendant’s possession, prosecutors said somewhere in August 2022, Cephas went to Zhang Yang to look for a job as a driver and advised him to provide a valid driver’s license and ID card.

On October 24, 2022, Cephas returned to the company with a fake temporary driver’s license and voter’s ID in the name, Charles Mensah, in order to be recruited.

With luck on his side, Cephas was employed the same day and was given a vehicle with registration number GE 6688-20 for a test drive for Cal Bank in Community 25 to transact some business for a company with one Christopher Doe Kuwornu.

When they got the location Christopher stepped out of the vehicle to the bank for the stated assignment, he expected Cephas to wait for him.

However, this gave Cephas the opportunity to execute his plan to flee with the vehicle and other property – a black handbag containing a Ghanaian Non-Citizen card, driver’s license and GH¢ 4,000.00 in cash – belonging to Zhang Yang.

The court was also told that during the investigation, Cephas paid GH¢8,500.00 to Star Oil to cover the cost of the stolen fuel, and the same was held as evidence.

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