From Ernest Best Anane, Kumasi
THE ASHANT Regional Police command over the past one week undertook a number of exercises, most of which are intelligence-led, to arrest criminals who are bent on making life difficult for law abiding citizens in the Ashanti Region.
DCOP Nathan Kofi Boakye, the Ashanti Regional Police command explained at a press briefing that a number of them have been rounded up.
He has described the arrests made so far made as “heartwarming”, explaining that most of them belong to the hard core criminal gangs on the wanted list of the police.
The Police Commander mentioned the suspects as Ernest Gyawu, Osei Kofi, Mathias Acqueson with one Kwaku Yeboah still at large. The suspects; Gyawu Ernest, Osei Kofi and Mathias Acqueson are excavator operator, mason and farmer respectively, based in Trabuom, near Ofoase.
He said on March 14, 2014, at about 6:00pm, at Trabuom, the suspects armed themselves with single barrel guns and other offensive weapons and attacked the complainant, a Kronom based taxi driver, Kwaku Tawiah, who drives a Hyundai Atos taxi Number AS 797-13.
The Police chief said the suspects boarded a KIA Avella taxi cab Number AS1588-10, driven by one Kwaku Yeboah, now at large, and blocked a section of the road between Trabuom and Ofoase.
They then attacked the complainant, then in charge of his taxi cab and some other vehicles and passengers who arrived at the scene from the opposite direction and robbed them of unspecified amount of monies and mobile phones, amidst firing of shots in the air.
DCOP Boakye stated that the complainant was robbed of GH¢60.00 being proceeds of the taxi cab and escaped with their booty in their taxi cab and headed towards Atwima Nkrong, during which their taxi developed a mechanical fault and started firing indiscriminately, and in the process injured four people who were rushed to the Emergency Unit of the Konfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) and admitted for treatment.
The police boss added that the suspects abandoned their taxi at Atwima Nkrong and escaped, but its owner later mentioned suspect Kwaku Yeboah as the driver. On April 2, 2014, upon Police intelligence, the three suspects were arrested at their hideout at Trabuom and handed over to the Police Regional CID for investigations.
DCOP Boakye further revealed another development in which one Kwame Seidu of Asawasi had a scuffle on February 13, 2014, with accused person, Yaw Wiafe, alias Azule, now on trial at Ashtown Court.
He said on that fateful day, the late K. Boroto, the leader of criminal group, organized his guys namely; Banahene, Yaw Wiafe, alias Azule, Dead body, Obuasi and Sisco to attack Kwame Seidu and his family, but they did not meet them in the house and, therefore, set the house ablaze, which spread to other adjoining houses, after which they fled the scene.
On April 4, 2014, at about 2:00am, suspect Banahene was arrested on the street at Asawasi by the Asawasi police patrol team. Dead Body was also arrested by the Buffalo Unit on April 6, 2014, and placed in police custody.
The police boss also narrated how on March 24, 2014 at about 8:45am, Richard Nyame of Atwima Koforidua, while on his way to Koforidua Township on board a vehicle to work, was attacked by three armed men who assaulted and robbed him of GH¢5,000.00, Dell laptop computer and two mobile phones.
He said the complainant told the police that he knew one of them and so he will be able to identify him when seen. As a result, on the April 7, 2014, the victim spotted the suspect, George Mensah, 20, and arrested him, with the help of other young men and took him to Abuakwa police station.
The suspect admitted the offence during interrogation and mentioned one Kwabena as his accomplice. The suspect claimed he was given GH¢1, 000 as his share, out of which he had spent GH¢600 at the time of his arrest. A search in his room revealed 13 unserviceable mobile phones suspected to have been robbed or stolen.
Meanwhile, complaints by a Pastor, Businessman and a Public Servant, all residents of Achiase-Fawoade near Mamponteng in Ashanti, has led to the arrest of Godfred Yeboah, a mason apprentice; Augustine Obeng, a shoe maker; Barack Gyimah, alias Kwaku Tutu, a driver’s mate; Owusu Afriyie, a small scale miner and Boateng Augustine, all of Mamponteng-Ash.
On Saturday March 29, 2014, Godfred Yeboah and Augustine Obeng went to Asuofua and plotted with three other accomplices to embark on robbery operations at Mamponteng and its environs.
On April 1, 2014 at about 12:00hours, they organized themselves with three other accomplices from Asuofua-Ash with the aim of embarking on a robbery operation at Achiase near Mamponteng with three pump action guns, a pistol and other implements.
DCOP Boakye stated that they entered the house of Rev. Paul Atta Nti at Achiase near Mamponteng by scaling the fence wall and robbed him and other occupants of their money, the sum of GH¢900, a laptop computer, ipad and other properties.
He indicated that from there, the accused persons went to the residence of Gabriel Oduro, a businessman, fired severally and killed his dog and eventually robbed him of his two laptops computers, three ipads, and three mobile phones worth GH¢2,500 and the sum of GH¢2,000.
From there, the accused persons and their accomplices carried their operation to the house of Joseph Kyei Ankra, a Civil servant at the same area and succeeded in robbing him of his two laptop computers, one Samsung Tablet, four mobile phones, worth GHc1.200.00, a multi TV Decoder and cash of GH¢2,300 and other personal properties.
The police regional commander said the accused persons, after the robbery operation shared the booty after which the guns used were taken away by the three other accomplices now at large.
On April 3, 2014, however, Yeboah and Obeng were arrested by the Mamponteng police upon a tipoff leading to the arrest of others to assist in investigations.
DCOP Boakye Indicated that a search conducted in their rooms revealed two laptop computers, one ipad, one mobile phone, a pen drive and a multi TV Decoder which were all identified by complainants as some of their properties being held by the police for continuous investigations