A police intelligence-led operation has led to the arrest of six armed robbery suspects in the Bono East Region.
The suspects, Issa Mohammed alias Baba/ Container Money, Reagan Kwaku Boakye alias Baby Face, Kwaku Boateng alias Star Boy, Elija Osei, and Gyimah Sadique, who operate within the region and beyond, were arrested on Sunday, July 17, at their various hideouts within the Techiman Municipality.
“A search conducted on them during the arrest led to the recovery of a locally made pistol with four live AAA cartridges, one toy pistol, two motorbikes, one cutlass, one hammer, and three pairs of scissors.
“Other items retrieved from them include one flashlight, one cutter, one pepper spray, and 22 assorted mobile phones believed to belong to victims of their operations. An amount of € 50 and GH₵ 2,500.00, were also retrieved from them,” a statement by the police read.
According to the police, a victim, who was robbed on July 17, 2022, at Nkwaeso on Sunyani Road identified one of the suspects, Issa Mohammed, to be among the people who robbed him.
The victim also identified iPhone 11 pro max among the phones retrieved from the gang.
Upon further interrogations, the suspects admitted their involvement in a series of both residential and highway robberies within the region and beyond.
“We want to reassure the public that the police are determined to fight crime and weed out criminal elements in our society” the statement added.
There appears to be a surge in reported cases of armed robbery across the country, resulting in increased police visibility across the various communities.
Robbery cases on the rise
From January to the end of October 2019, the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) early warning system records captured 80 armed robbery cases in Ghana.
Fast forward to 9 June 2021, a man was shot in the stomach in a daylight robbery by two armed men at Pig Farm.
He was pronounced dead 24 hours after being treated at the 37 Military Hospital.
That same day, two armed men also broke into a forex bureau near Honeysuckle in Osu and made away with an undisclosed amount of money.
The culprits in these two incidents are currently at large.
On 11 June 2021, an unidentified man in an attempted robbery, attacked the driver of a Nissan Pathfinder with registration number GE-8088-11 on the GIMPA- Fiesta Royale road.
He threw a big stone at the vehicle, smashing its glass door, and tried to escape into a nearby bush. But he was arrested by the police after the victim drew the police’s attention.
On 14 June, three armed robbers on a motorcycle trailed a Mon-Tran bullion van and robbed occupants of the cash in the van –two were left dead at Adedenkpo in Jamestown.
Sometime in December 2021, two persons were arrested for the East Legon robbery that occurred on Sunday, 5 December.
Samuel Agyei and Sumaila Mahama are currently in police custody for further investigations pending court processes.
The suspects were arrested following a distress call received by the patrol team that some unknown men had invaded a neighbourhood at CPL Estate, East Legon Hills.
An initial search led to the retrieval of a 75-inch curved television set, an iPhone 12 pro max, one Techno smartphone, and a revolver pistol with four rounds of ammunition.
The team also found a KIA Morning Saloon car which the suspects had parked at the roadside.