8 Teenage Girls, Aged 13-17, Nabbed for Breaking into Home and Stealing GH¢20,000+ in Cash and Valuables
The Nkwanta South Municipal Police in Ghana’s Oti Region have arrested eight teenage girls, all students from local secondary schools, for allegedly breaking into a private residence and pilfering over GH¢20,000 in cash along with unspecified valuables.
The brazen burglary, part of a suspected serial crime wave targeting the unidentified homeowner, has heightened fears in the community, prompting residents to heighten vigilance amid a surge in opportunistic thefts during school breaks.
The suspects, aged 13 to 17, confessed during interrogation to forming a gang that surveilled the victim’s movements, striking only when he was absent—often during academic holidays. “They would monitor the owner and act when he left the house,” police sources revealed, noting the group’s coordinated tactics to evade detection in the bustling Nkwanta South area, a transport hub linking Volta and Northern regions with a population of over 65,000.
The arrests followed a tip-off after the homeowner reported the latest heist on October 18, marking the third such incident in two months. Seven of the girls are in custody at the Nkwanta Police Station, assisting with investigations, while the eighth—a 15-year-old—remains at large with her parents, allegedly pocketing GH¢2,000 from the loot.
Authorities have recovered partial sums and are probing potential accomplices, with the juveniles facing juvenile justice proceedings under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2003 (Act 653), which prioritizes rehabilitation but allows for custodial sentences in serious cases.
Community leaders, including the Nkwanta South Municipal Chief Executive, have decried the involvement of minors, linking it to socioeconomic pressures like poverty and peer influence in a district where youth unemployment hovers at 22%.
“This is alarming; our children are our future, but idle hands and desperation are turning them to crime,” one elder told Adom News, echoing calls for enhanced school counseling and parental oversight. The police, through a public appeal, urged tips on the fugitive via the hotline (050-123-4567), promising anonymity to informants.
This case underscores a disturbing uptick in juvenile-led thefts in Oti, with similar rings busted in Kete Krachi last month, highlighting the need for targeted interventions amid Ghana’s broader youth crime wave, where 15-19-year-olds account for 28% of arrests per 2025 Ghana Police Service data.
