7 Service Men Busted For Robbery

The suspects

Five soldiers and two police officers believed to be members of robbery syndicates operating in some parts of the country are in the grips of the Ashanti Regional Police Command.

They were identified as Lance Corporal Farouk, Lance Corporal Tommy, Private Ahmed Ride-Wan, Private Nasser Gideon and Lance Bombardier Frimpong. Their counterparts from the police were named as Constable Murtala Musah of the Buffalo Unit and G/Constable Bismark Ntow of Zongo Police Station, all in Kumasi.

In the case of the soldiers, while Lance Corporals Farouk and Tommy are with the 4BN in Kumasi, Privates Ahmed Ride-Wan and Nasser Gideon are with the Tamale Air Borne Brigade, and Lance Bombardier Frimpong with the 66 Artillery Regiment in Ho.

They were arrested alongside their civilian accomplices at different mining communities in the Ashanti Region where they had gone to rob their victims, DCOP Augustine Gyening, the Regional Police Commander, stated.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday in Kumasi, Mr Gyening said the service personnel were part of different robbery gangs, with the other civilian members being Stephen Nsor, a Community Protection Assistant, Toffic Iddrisu, Osman Musah, Philip Nyarko, Daniel Agyemang, Solomon Opare, Kofi Djan and Patrick Acheampong.

According to the police chief, following the increase in small-scale mining activities at the Amansie West and Amansie Central Districts, and Nkawie and Konongo areas in the Ashanti Region, some group of persons reportedly attacked and robbed the miners of their gold quartz and monies.

DCOP Gyening narrated that his outfit, upon receiving the information, instituted intelligence-led measures to clamp down on the suspected robbers.

He disclosed that Divisional and District Police Commanders were tasked to intensify patrols in such areas and arrest the culprits, as part of the measures.

The police chief said the outcome of the measures revealed that some police and military personnel were part of the suspected criminals who robbed the miners of quantities of monies and gold quartz at the sites.

On July 21, 2012, DCOP Gyening told journalists that the regional command received information that seven armed men, including a police officer, had attacked some Chinese nationals at their mining sites and robbed them of their mobile phones and GH¢1,910 at Denyire Nyinawusu near Dunkwa-on-Offin in the Central Region.

Officers at the Dunkwa police command, upon receipt of the information, mounted a roadblock, leading to the arrest of Constable Mutala Musah of the Buffalo Unit in Kumasi with service number 43415, and Stephen Nsor, a Community Policing Assistant attached to the Kumasi Central Police Station.

Six other civilians on board the unregistered Nissan Pick-up with trade plate number DV 23959-12 that was being driven by Constable Mutala, 30, were also apprehended.

A search conducted on the vehicle revealed six mobile phones, a pump action gun, six cartridges, one empty cartridge, and two pairs of handcuffs as well as a cash sum of GH¢1,910.

On July 23, 2012 at about 11:30am, DCOP Gyening added that the police, acting on another tipoff, arrested Yaw Nkrumah, a driver who was in charge of a taxi with registration number AW 5187-12, after he and his gang robbed some miners at Fahiakobo near Jacobu.

A search conducted in the cab revealed a military beret and a Nokia phone.

The police boss said some miners of Freeman Gold Mining Company also managed to arrest G/Constable Bismark Ntow of Zongo Police Station in Kumasi, and his civilian accomplices, Solomon Opoku and Kofi Djan three days later.

They had gone to the mining site to rob the miners of gold and unspecified sum of money when they met their match, the police commander intimated.

He said while the police were investigating those robbery incidents, another group of suspected armed robbers with serving soldiers, Lance Corporals Farouk and Tommy, all of 4BN in Kumasi, as well as Privates Ahmed Ride-Wan and Nasser Gideon of Tamale Borne Brigade, together with Ohene Djan Dacosta and Kwaku Francis, both civilians, were also arrested.

Youth of Banka near Konongo attacked and arrested the gangsters when they were busily carting their booty in a Kia truck with registration number AS 2982 X and a Tico cab with registration number AS 6582 P that were driven by Ibrahim Anas and Jonas Nyarko respectively.

The soldiers, in the course of the melee, managed to escape, but lack eluded him and was later arrested and detained at the 4BN guard room, DCOP Gyening said.

Lance Bombardier Frimpong, another soldier with the 66 Artillery Regiment in Ho, and two civilians by names Isaac Asare and John Appiah, were also arrested by the Nyinahin police following a robbery attack on F & T Mining Company at Akonfore near Nyinahin.

Mr. Gyening said all the suspects were in custody assisting in investigations.

According to him, his command would not relent on its effort to arrest and prosecute personnel in the service who were caught to be involved in any form of crime.

By Ernest Kofi Adu