3 soldiers, others busted for extortion

From left to right Bismark Boateng, William Taylor, Agbeko Manna and Iddrisu Attoh after their arrest

Three more soldiers and two policemen have been cited among the growing ranks of men in uniform who attempt to acquire wealth by means that offend the law.

The latest case to upset the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police Service is one of alleged extortion in which the three soldiers (including an ex-serviceman) and a civilian were arrested yesterday by officers at the Accra Regional Police Headquarters.

Two policemen and another civilian accomplice of theirs, however, managed to escape arrest.

One of the policemen on the run has been identified as Corporal Isaac Opare of the Accra Central Police Station, while the identity of the second has not been established.

Those in custody are William Taylor and Bismark Boateng, both active servicemen at the Air Force Base, Iddrisu Attoh, who claimed he had resigned from the Air Force, and Agbeko Manna, the civilian.

Briefing the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Cyprian Zenge, said the suspects purportedly arrested and handcuffed two persons, Karim Abdulai and Nana Koranteng, a taxi driver, for allegedly smoking Indian hemp.

He said the security men allegedly informed the "suspects" that the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Bio Atinga, had ordered their arrest for dealing in Indian hemp.

He said the security men, at that point, sought to bargain with the "suspects" for their release.

That, he explained, was after the security men had seized Nana Koranteng's mobile phones, money and car key.

He said when the security men drove towards the Accra Regional Police Command, they did not want to go into the yard with the '''suspects'', resulting in a heated argument, with Abdulai and Koranteng insisting that they be sent to the Regional Police Commander.

He said the security men attempted to abscond when some policemen approached their vehicle to find out what was happening. In the process, the soldiers and Agbeko were arrested.

To effect the operation, he said, one of the civilians had hired a trotro in the morning to pick the soldiers.

He said one of the soldiers was picked up around Kantamanto, from where they went to Dansoman to pick three other persons, including another soldier.

He said the gang went back to the Central Motor Traffic and Transport Unit to pick up another policeman and from there they went to Avenor, near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, for the operation.