A total of GHC45,000 representing proceeds from three days of road toll collection has allegedly been stolen from the Tema Motorway tollbooth.
A Police officer and a supervisor on duty at the tollbooth have already been picked up by the Police at Tema as primary suspects.
Earlier reports indicated that some armed robbers stormed the tollbooth at the Tema end of the motorway Sunday at about 9:30 pm and made away with entire revenue collected between Friday and Sunday.
However, the Tema Regional Police Commander, DCOP George Tuffour, who confirmed the incident to 3News Monday morning, ruled out the armed robbery element, stating “the facts before me suggest that it might have been orchestrated†by some insiders. “I will call it stealing instead of robbery because there is more to it than the eyes can see,†he added, stating preliminary investigations suggest “there wasn’t any force applied to the person [the tollbooth supervisor]. The money was virtually handed over to these peopleâ€.
 DCOP Tuffour declined to give further details, indicating that “if we put it out there some people will cover their backsâ€. He said full investigations have since commenced into the matter.
Tema Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Joseph Darkwa, said that the Policeman on duty at the tollbooth, Napoleon Dzonyoh, claimed he was at the opposite side of the road at the time of the incident and “did not see the toll booth being robbedâ€.
According to ASP Darkwa, the tollbooth supervisor, Theophilus Ankoma, “claimed at the time the robbers arrived he had not locked the safe and the doors so they [alleged robbers] collected the three days revenueâ€. He said Ankoma who sustained minor cuts on the head has been arrested and assisting in investigations while the policeman has also “been picked up†to assist in investigations. Further, he said the officer would be subjected to disciplinary action for ‘abandoning’ his duty post.
www.primenewsghana.com/Â Ghana News