The Accra Circuit Court Eight has remanded four persons accused of engaging in illegal sand winning at Teacher Mantey near Amasaman.
They are Kofi Atiemo, 38; Ebenezer Tetteh Gyablatey, 32; John Hayford, 48; and Ebenezer Kwafo, 31.
Atiemo and Gyablatey were unemployed, while Hayford and Kwafo were drivers. All four reside at Teacher Mantey.
They have been charged with conspiracy to engage in illegal sand winning and unlawful damage to crops. They denied the charges and are to reappear on September 24, 2026.
Defence lawyers applied for bail, but the prosecution opposed the applications, arguing that the offences were serious and carried severe punishment and that the accused persons were likely to abscond if granted bail.
The presiding judge, after hearing both sides, remanded the four accused persons, accepting the prosecution’s argument that they might not appear for trial if granted bail.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Issah Achiburi, presenting the facts, said the complainants were Francis Okah and Prince Annor, both businessmen residing at Airport City and Teacher Mantey respectively.
The prosecution said that between 2024 and 2026, the complainants received reports from their land caretakers that the accused persons had allegedly entered their properties at Teacher Mantey, near Amasaman, with a wheel loader and heavy-duty trucks to win sand.
Francis Okah owned 4.5 acres of land, while Prince Annor owned two plots. ASP Achiburi said the alleged activities damaged Okah’s fence wall and Annor’s vegetation crops.
He said Atiemo was confronted by the complainants and asked to stop the activities but allegedly failed to comply. The complainants subsequently reported the matter to the police, who mounted surveillance and arrested the accused persons at their hideout at Teacher Mantey.
ASP Achiburi said the accused persons denied the offences in their investigation caution statements.
Police later visited the scene with the accused persons, where photographs and videos were taken. The prosecution said officers observed that sand had been won at different spots, altering the nature of the land.
He said the investigation also revealed that the complainants’ fence wall and crops had been damaged, although the cost of the damage was yet to be determined.
ASP Achiburi said CCTV footage from an adjacent residence captured the accused persons allegedly winning and transporting sand from Annor’s land.
He said investigations further revealed that Hayford and Kwafo were in charge of two tipper trucks, with registration numbers GN-9145-2 and GN-6778-Z, painted green and blue respectively, which were allegedly used to transport the sand to an unknown destination.
The prosecution identified Atiemo as the alleged mastermind behind the illegal sand winning activities.
ASP Achiburi said investigations were ongoing and efforts were underway to arrest other alleged accomplices.
