Police kill Two In Gun Battle

Paul Tawiah Quaye — IGP

Two suspected armed robbers have been killed in a fierce gun battle with the police, while three others have been arrested, after a robbery expedition at Axim.

One of the armed robbers, who was wounded in the leg, managed to escape. The police also retrieved from the armed robbers an amount of GH¢2.5 million which the robbers had taken from seven cocoa purchasing clerks who had cashed it from the bank for payment to some cocoa farmers.

Ten residents of Axim-Akropong, including a 10-year-old boy, who were caught in the crossfire also sustained gunshot wounds.

Confirming the action to the Daily Graphic, the Western Regional Police Commander, DCOP Hamidu Mahama, said the armed robbers had trailed the clerks from Accra where they had cashed the money, all the way to Axim-Akropong, their destination, before striking.

He said when the armed robbers got to Takoradi, they snatched a KIA vehicle with which they crossed the vehicle being used by the clerks and robbed them (clerks) of the money.

DCOP Mahama said the clerks raised an alarm and the people of Axim-Akropong came out and blocked all the roads in the town.

He said the response of the citizens annoyed the robbers, who shot indiscriminately into the people and wounded 10 of them including the 10-year old boy.

He said when the two suspected robbers fell and the others were arrested the police retrieved shot guns, pellets, three machetes, daggers as well as arm bands, and talismans.

DCOP Mahama gave the name of the leader of the gang as Ebenezer Okori Tetteh aka Rasta. Commenting in Accra on the incident, the Director of the Police Public Affairs Unit, D.S.P. Kwesi Ofori, said the Inspector-General of Police had commended the people of Axim-Akropong for their courage and patriotism.

He said the IGP used the occasion to call on all Ghanaians to emulate the good example of the people of Axim-Akropong and collaborate with the police to maintain law and order.

In a related development, DCOP Mahama said the police had retrieved the gold that was robbed at the Sankofa Gold Mine in Tarkwa.

He said the armed robbers had also been arrested and were in police custody pending further investigations.

He said the gold, which was valued at $280,000, was retrieved from the hideout of the armed robbers.

DCOP Mahama said the armed robbers succeeded in their deal with the connivance of the security personnel at the Sankofa Gold Mine.

He warned armed robbers to desist from their criminal activities, since the police were going to take the war against crime to their doorstep.

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