522 suspected criminals in police grips in Ashanti Region swoops
The Ashanti Regional Police Command has apprehended some 522 suspected criminals after separate swoops in 44 of its districts.
The police officers are said to have raided some hideouts of criminals, destroyed and set them ablaze as part of a continuous pledge to rid the region of crime.
Public Relations Officer for the Ghana Police Service in the region, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Godwin Ahianyo, who confirmed this said the suspects are currently assisting with investigations.
He said others are being profiled for further actions, while those found culpable will be made to face the full rigour of the law.
Several exhibits, including substances suspected to be Indian Hemp, machetes, pairs of scissors, mobile phones and drinks suspected to be laced with marijuana among others, were retrieved from the suspects.
“Those suspects who were found with the cannabis will be handed over to the drug enforcement unit and the exhibit taken to the forensic lab for analysis,” ASP Ahianyo added.
He then urged the public to assist with information to help the police fight crime in the area. There appears to be a surge in reported cases of armed robbery across the country, resulting in increased police visibility across the various communities.
In 2019, the Ashanti region is said to have recorded 291 robberies. This figure reduced to 165 last year, representing 56 per cent.
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 June 9, 2021, a man was shot in the stomach in a daylight robbery by two armed men at Pigfarm.
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 June 11, an unidentified man in an attempted robbery case 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 June 14, 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.