Police Auction Impounded Motorbikes
The Tema Police Command has auctioned 150 impounded motorbikes, out of a total of 310, to a Tema-based steel company, Tema Steel, to be crushed into iron rods and other steel products.
These were motorbikes, which had been confiscated from swoops on criminals and areas zoned as criminal precincts undertaken by personnel from the Police Command over a period of time, and which have been left at the mercy of the weather at a number of police stations across Tema.
Also, there were about 270 vehicles, some of which were involved in motor accidents and other breaking motor and driving regulations on our roads, especially by drivers who had no driving licenses.
The impounded motorbikes and vehicles, according to police sources, had created congestion at the various police stations, hence the need for the auction.
Briefing members of the Tema press corps, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Maxwell Atingane, Tema Police Commander, said the motorbikes had become a menace for them, because most of them were unregistered, while others had been used to commit various crimes across the Metropolis.
He hinted that the first phase of the auction exercise, which involved 150 motorbikes, started from the Tema Police Headquarters, and would be extended to the Ashaiman district and divisional offices, and finally to the rest of the stations within the Tema jurisdiction.
'It took a very bold decision by the police to get rid of the motorbikes in the Metropolis, because of the problems the country is facing with the issues on motorbikes, so we decided not to auction the bikes to the public, because they will go back to the owners and communities, and they may be used to commit the same crimes for which they were confiscated,' he noted.
Touching on the impounded vehicles, DCOP Maxwell Atingane revealed that 'out of the total number of the vehicles, which have been impounded by the police, 150 have been claimed so far by their owners, remaining 120.
He continued that the remaining vehicles would be later auctioned to the general public, because the owners had ignored them and were not doing anything possible to come for them.
In an exclusive interview with the Tema File, DCOP Maxwell Atingane said, 'The crushing is likely to be done under the strict supervision of the police.'
He noted: 'We have gone through all legitimate and legal processes; announced for people to come forward to claim ownership of their vehicles, but all efforts used by the police have proved futile.'
He stated that the law allows an auctioneer to come in, as and when necessary, under such a circumstance, quoting CI 146 Sub regulation (B) of 2012 to buttress his point.