The Tarkwa Circuit Court has fined a small-scale miner GH¢7,200 for breaking into a gold buying shop at Wassa Nkran in the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipality of the Western Region, the Ghana News Agency (GNA), MyJoyOnline and Ghana Guardian report.
Romanus Bangter, 19, will serve two years in prison if he fails to pay the fine. He pleaded guilty to causing unlawful damage and unlawful entry and was convicted on his own plea.
Prosecuting, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Joseph Lartey told the court, presided over by Her Honour Bernice Mensima Ackon, that the complainant, Mathias Dagwine, is a small-scale miner and gold buyer who lived in Wassa Nkran with the convict.
ASP Lartey said that on 17 July 2026, at about 10:00pm, the complainant locked his gold buying shop on the Wassa Nkran main street after work and went to bed.
At about 1:00am on 18 July, a witness went to the complainant's house and told him that thieves had broken into his shop, the prosecution said.
The complainant and the unit committee chairman of the town rushed to the scene and found that Bangter had cut open the metal container and entered the shop to steal, according to the prosecution.
The two arrested him and handed him over to the Aboso Police, where a formal complaint was made.
The prosecutor said Bangter admitted the offence in his investigation caution statement, led police to the scene and showed how he carried out the act.
Sources: Ghana News Agency, MyJoyOnline, Ghana Guardian