Yaw Adjei, a farmer, and four others were accused with unlawful possession of a firearm and illegal tree felling before a Circuit Court in Dormaa-Ahenkro. Richard Akagla, 34, John Kwarteng, 43, Kofi Asamoah, 27 and Lawrence Asante, 30, all chain saw operators, pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit crime and processing forest products without authority, while four accomplices, Richard Akagla, 34, John Kwarteng, 43, Kofi Asamoah, 27 and Lawrence Asante, 30, all chain saw operators, pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit crime and processing forest
However, Adjei was given a bail of GhC10,000 by the court, which was presided over by Mr. Samuel Djanie Kotey, with two sureties to be guaranteed with property of equal value to the bail payment. The court set bail for the remaining four defendants at GhC60,000.00, with three sureties to be justified and a property worth the bail value as a guarantee.
On Thursday, May 19, 2022, the complainant, a forest guard with the Forestry Commission at Dormaa-Ahenkro, accompanied by some forest concession guards working with a local timber processing company, went on routine patrol with the goal of flushing out illegal chainsaw operators from Mpameso Forest Reserve, according to Police Chief Inspector (P/C Inspt.) Timothy Ahiaduvor, the prosecutor. The accused suspects were detected transforming wood into lumber, according to P/C Inspt. Ahiaduvor, when they arrived at a piece of the forest reserve’s division that belonged to the corporation.
During police interrogation, P/C Inspt. Ahiavudor stated that Akagla, the first accused, Asamoah, and Asante (the fourth accused) admitted to the crime and stated that they were working for one Frank, a timber merchant in Kasapin, Ahafo Region. He claimed Adjei agreed to the crime but could not present any documentation related to the gun, and that they were charged with it after a comprehensive investigation. The lawsuit was postponed to Wednesday, June 22nd, this year.
