How a wallet blew cover of MP’s guards in Gh¢165k gold robbery

A careless blunder at a crime scene has led police officers straight to two security guards affiliated with the Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East Constituency, Phillis Naa Koryoo Okunor, after a gunpoint highway ambush on a gold-mining team in the Ashanti Region.

The suspects, Justice Kpakpo Mingle (alias Nii), a 31-year-old photographer, and Justice Mensah (alias Gaza), a 29-year-old vulcanizer, both residing at Kasoa, have been formally arraigned before the Bekwai Circuit Court. They face charges of Conspiracy to Commit Robbery and Robbery under Sections 23(1) and 149 of Ghana’s Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).

According to court documents filed by the prosecution led by ASP Lloyd Baidoo and chief investigator D/Sgt. Arthur Lennox, the incident occurred at approximately 8:00 AM on May 22, 2026. The complainant, miner George Osei Tutu, along with his associates Clinton Amankwa and Simon Ofori Amoah, was transporting raw gold ore from a mining site at Denkyei toward Fomena in a pickup truck (registration number GW 3813-25).

En route, their vehicle was intercepted by men clad in black and brown tactical military/police uniforms and wielding a handgun. The armed assailants forced their way into the vehicle, ordering the driver to navigate down an untarred bush track. Upon reaching a secluded section, the robbers seized:

Raw gold ore valued at GH¢165,000.00 (stored inside a grease bucket in the truck bed), assorted mobile phones belonging to the victims, the pickup truck's ignition key, effectively stranding the mining team in the bush.

The assailants remained in hiding in the bush until evening before changing out of their tactical gear and taking a taxi to Adansi Asokwa, where they lodged at the Adom Ara Kwa Guest House under assumed names.

The robbery execution appeared planned, but a crucial mistake at the scene dismantled the plot. When police investigators arrived at the crime scene, they found a dropped wallet containing Justice Kpakpo Mingle’s Ghana Card, Voters ID, Driver’s License, and a business complimentary card for "Nii Akpaloo Concepts" complete with his contact phone numbers.

Armed with this evidence, officers from the Ashanti South Police Intelligence Directorate (PID) tracked the suspects to Kasoa in the Central Region. On June 10, 2026, police arrested Mingle at Kasoa Nyanyano Monaco. Under interrogation, Mingle led police directly to his co-conspirator, Justice Mensah, at Kasoa Akweley Junction.

Upon interrogation, both suspects confessed to the crime and named the mastermind, Festus Mensah (alias Gucci), an excavator operator working directly at the victims' mining site in Denkyei, who recruited them from Kasoa for the operation. Festus Mensah remains at large.

Investigations further revealed that Mingle and Mensah operate as security guards for the Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East, Honorable Naa Koryor. In that capacity, they were issued official black and brown tactical uniforms, the very attire used to impersonate security personnel during the robbery.

The stolen gold ore was transported to Adabraka, Accra, where it was sold to a black-market gold dealer for GH¢151,000.00. The proceeds were divided as follows:

Justice Mensah (GH¢60,000 share): Gave GH¢20,000 to his wife, Sakinatu, to deposit into her bank account. He used the remaining funds to settle personal debts and buy canopies, chairs, and foodstuffs for his late mother's upcoming funeral rites.

Justice Kpakpo Mingle (GH¢60,000 share): He GH¢18,000 to purchase an Apsonic Jungle motorbike and spent the remainder on house rent and personal expenses.

Police have retrieved and secured as evidence:

1. The black and brown tactical uniforms, trousers, and combat boots.

2. The guest house register from Adom Ara Kwa Guest House.

3. The newly acquired Apsonic Jungle motorbike.

The two suspects remain in custody following their remand by the Bekwai Circuit Court. Police efforts are ongoing to retrieve the firearm used in the crime and arrest the fleeing excavator operator, Festus Mensah.