Three Arrested in GH¢210,000 Hyundai Elantra Car Theft Bust

The Central East Regional Command of the Ghana Police Service has apprehended three individuals involved in a sophisticated vehicle theft following weeks of painstaking investigations. The suspects, Douglas Kwame Akunnor, a steel bender; Emmanuel Aduah, a trader; and Richard Baidoo, an entrepreneur, allegedly approached a businessman in Kakraba, Gomoa East District, to purchase a 2021 Hyundai Elantra, registered under trade plate DV 6060-W, on November 24, 2025. On the same day, Douglas Kwame Akunnor and Emmanuel Aduah handed over a signed cash cheque worth GHS 210,000 to the businessman on behalf of Albert Akwasi Ofori, another suspect currently at large. Ofori had earlier expressed interest in the vehicle via phone. After the businessman deposited the cheque, he noticed that the transaction was immediately reversed. Attempts to reach Ofori proved futile, as he confirmed the reversal and subsequently switched off his phone. Following the suspicious transaction, the businessman filed an official complaint with the police. An investigative team, led by D/Inspector Emmanuel Owusu Danquah and assisted by D/Inspector Andrews Essel, D/Lance Corporal Prince Nketiah, and G/Lance Corporal Jones Boateng, conducted extensive investigations that led to the arrest of the three suspects. According to a police statement, Emmanuel Aduah was arrested on January 2, 2026, while attempting to unlock his SIM card in the Western Region. Further interrogations resulted in the arrest of Douglas Kwame Akunnor, who admitted his involvement in the theft and demonstrated the method used to execute the crime. However, the suspects initially failed to reveal the location of the stolen vehicle. Intelligence later led police to recover the car in Nsakina. The vehicle had been repainted from red to black, with a counterfeit registration number plate GX 3856-21 affixed. At the time of recovery, the car was in the possession of Richard Baidoo, who was promptly arrested. The three suspects were arraigned before the Kasoa Ofankor Circuit Court on January 6, 2026, and remanded to reappear on January 28. Police investigations continue, with efforts underway to apprehend Albert Akwasi Ofori, identified as the mastermind behind the crime.