The Nsuta Circuit Court in the Ashanti Region has fined two tricycle riders 6,000 cedis each after convicting them of stealing a pregnant sheep.

The convicts, Samuel Kabar, 25, and Kofi Akaite, 24, also known as “King Paluta”, were ordered to pay the fines or serve two years in prison in default of payment.

Two other suspects identified only as Kwame and Akwasi remain at large.

Prosecutors told the court that the sheep belonged to 65-year-old farmer Adam Iddrisu from Awaayeso, near Mampong.

According to Chief Inspector Owusu Kobi Moses, a witness spotted the accused and two others transporting the sheep on a tricycle at about 2:00 a.m. on 8 May.

The witness became suspicious and questioned the group about the animal.

The prosecution said the other suspects fled, abandoning the sheep and leaving Kabar behind.

Residents later apprehended him and handed him over to a police patrol team.

Later that morning, Iddrisu, who had discovered his pregnant sheep was missing, heard discussions at a mosque about the arrest and went to the police station, where he identified the animal as his stolen property.

Police later arrested Akaite on 19 May during an intelligence-led operation at Adiembra, another suburb of Mampong.

In court, Kabar claimed Akaite had directed him to transport goods for two men, while Akaite denied involvement and accused Kabar of borrowing his tricycle and failing to return it.

Presiding judge Simon Nketiah Gagah said the court would have imposed a harsher custodial sentence but considered the ages of the convicts before opting for the fines.

The court also ordered that the sheep be returned to its owner.