A joint task force led by the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Hon. Linda Obenewaa Akweley Ocloo, with support from the Mayor of Accra, Hon. Michael Kpakpo Allotey, and the Municipal Chief Executive for Ablekuma Central, Hon. Frank Nkansah, has shut down NN Est Metal Company Ltd. and BlancoMet Recycling over allegations of purchasing stolen Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) cables and other electrical equipment.
The two recycling firms were closed on Tuesday during an enforcement and monitoring exercise that took the task force to the Old Onion Market at Agbogbloshie and selected recycling yards. The operation forms part of renewed efforts to sanitise the area and dismantle criminal networks involved in the theft of public infrastructure.
Speaking after the exercise, the Regional Minister said the visit was aimed at enforcing earlier directives concerning activities at Agbogbloshie, which she described as toxic and unsafe for human habitation.
She disclosed that authorities acted on intelligence suggesting that stolen streetlight cables and other ECG equipment—including meters, transformers and high-tension materials—were being sold through scrap dealers and channelled to specific recycling yards for the extraction and sale of copper.
According to her, preliminary checks at the affected facilities uncovered quantities of what she described as “fresh” electrical cables and equipment, including items typically stored in warehouses. These findings, she noted, strengthened suspicions that stolen public assets were being traded through the yards.
The Regional Minister subsequently ordered the temporary closure of the facilities to allow for further investigations. Security personnel have been deployed to secure the premises, while relevant state agencies have been notified to take over the next stages of the process.
Story by: Ernest Frimpong (0247220948) | Follow our social media handles: @uktvghana
