Amanfro Court grants GH¢40,000 bail to man over illegal sand winning, building without permit

Peter Kobia, unemployed appeared before the Amanfro District Court last Thursday, charged with winning sand without per­mit, building without permit, and threat of death.

He was granted GH¢40,000 bail with three sureties and would appear again on Decem­ber 13.

Kobia was charged together with his uncle, David Kobia who is currently out of the country.

Prosecuting, Inspector Maxwell Kwakye of the Weija Police Office, said the accused held hostage, the complainant, Mr Thomas Yaw Dettoh, Head of the Physical Planning Department of the Ga South Municipal Assembly, and three colleagues when they visited a site at Donkonah-New Bortianor, on their routine inspection to stop illegal sand winning and building without a permit at the site.

Insp. Kwakye told the court presided over by Mrs Emil­ia Abrokwah that when the complainant and his colleagues arrived on the site, they met a pill loader winning sand and loading into three tipper trucks.

The court heard that Mr Det­toh saw carpenters working on an uncompleted building without permit at the site.

The policeman said the com­plainant asked the accused to stop work because they had no permit to build and win sand.

Insp. Kwakye said Peter­Kobia who was on the site obstructed Mr Dettoh and his colleagues from performing their lawful duty, held them hostage for 30 minutes by closing the gate before he freed them.

He said the complainant later reported the case to the Crimi­nal Investigations Department, Weija Divisional Police Station, adding that the complainant and the police went to the site and arrested the accused together with the three tipper trucks loaded with sand.