Police grab Kasoa notorious robber

A man alleged to have recruited robbers to 'terrorise' residents of Amanfrom and Kasoa in the Central Region has been arrested by the Kasoa Police.

The suspect, identified as Mike Kelson, 25, who was described by the police as a notorious and dangerous man, was arrested through police intelligence while he was relocating to Tema with his wife and his child.

The police said Kelson's name was put on the police wanted list shortly after he had been released from police custody where he had been for about four years and was standing trial at the Swedru Circuit Court.

According to the police, Kelson was released on June 4, 2015 after the Accra High Court had granted him bail based on a motion filed by his father.

Lone ranger
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Kasoa District Police Commander, Superintendent of Police Mr Samuel T. Punobyin, said Kelson had been involved in a series of robberies in Kasoa, Amanfrom and the surrounding areas.

Kelson was said to be the leader of a gang of robbers, many of whom had been arrested. Two of his accomplices were said to have been lynched at Kasoa last year.

Mr Punobyin said intelligence gathered showed that Kelson recruited robbers from the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and other places whenever he had a robbery operation.

'He is a lone ranger now but recruits some members of other gangs from Circle and other criminal dens when he needs to carry out a robbery operation,' he said.

He said numerous attempts to arrest the suspect and some of his gang members in the past had been unsuccessful but he was arrested from his hideout at Opeikuma, a suburb of Kasoa, while he was relocating to Tema.

Hunt for accomplices
Preliminary investigations have indicated that Kelson sold his booty, including mobile phones, wax prints and electronic gadgets, to some traders 'at a give-away prices'.

The police, he said were hunting for some of Kelson's accomplices and the buyers of the stolen items.

Some victims from Amanfrom and Kasoa, Mr Punobyin said identified Kelson as the leader of the gang that attacked them in their homes during an identification parade at the Amanfrom District Police Station.

Some of the stolen items retrieved from Kelson included mobile phones, wax prints, mobile phone cases, a military cap and a bag.