MONROVIA-Lebanese and Turkish men in his 60s identified as Shouki Eid and Fuat Gebara age 39 have been hooked by officers of the Liberia National Police(LNP) and sent to the Monrovia City Court for onward prosecution for the crimes of ‘Power Theft and Tampering.’
August 31, 2021, in Freeport, Bushrod Island Community at Eid Supply Center. During that time, Shouki Eid was arrested acquainted with his Miranda/ Constitutional Rights, investigated and duly charged with said crime in the tone of Ten Thousand United States Dollars (US$10, 000.00) while Fuat Gebrara in tone of Two Thousand Three Hundred Eighteen Thirty-Five Cents United States Dollars (US$2,318.35 ) which is in violation of chapter 15, sub-chapter “D”, section 15.88 of the New Penal of Liberia based upon a complaint filed by Patrick S. Nyumah who is a Security Manager of the Liberia Electricity Corporation.
According to Police charge sheet, complainant Nyumah said LEC and that of Liberia National Police technicians were on its normal routine to curtail the act of power theft in the Freeport Community, Bushrod Island when the team at the Eid Business Center asked for their source of power supply of which the Manager could not provide any receipt nor payment slip from LEC for the past years.
It furthered that while asking for some information, LEC current was on. In the process, the LNP arrested defendant Shouki Eid and was taken to the Liberia National Police Headquarters in Monrovia.
On the part of the defendant Shouki Eid, he denied the allegations levied against him. He explained that he is the owner and Chief Executive Officer of Eid Supply Center located at Freeport Community.
He narrated that August 31, 2021, he was at his business area when a team of LEC came to inquire on how the business was getting power. He said the business was getting power from their own generator but had LEC connection to the business area since December 2016 till January 2019.
He added he left LEC based on the bill which was very high- the amount of US$520.00 per month is what he said he was paying. He said he paid all his bills and reverted to his private generator.
“After providing the information to LEC team and was not satisfied they immediately contacted the Police. When the police officers arrived, they informed us that we are connected illegally to LEC power grid and is involved in the act of power theft” he explained.
For Fuat Gebrara, he served as the General Manager for a business involve in rewarding motors for generators and vehicles.
He said the current was installed by LEC Management and was legally connected, but after his bill was submitted which he paid up to March 2021 and failed to pay because the current could not come on during the course of the day, he had no use for the power.
According to the police, the Management of Eid Supply Center illegally connected LEC power grid and was using the power free without paying bills to LEC after few years. It was discovered by the monitoring team of LEC while the Business Center was in operations.
The investigation furthered that the connection was done with the knowledge and consent of the General Manager (Shouki Eid) and the business used the power for over years with direct connection.
The act give clues to the investigators that it was criminally done thereby depriving LEC of its needed revenue.
At the same time, the investigation established that defendant Gebrara provided receipt which was verified from the system of LEC and he owed US$2,318.18 as payment for five months.
According to the investigation, view of the fact and circumstances, coupled with the retrieval of wires and three phase that were directly connected to the light pole that defendants was using as the current supply which is currently in the possession of the police as Fruit of the Crime (FOC) and the way and manner in which said crime was committed, including the clues gathered during the investigation.
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