Five Arrested For Attempted kidnapping

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service has arrested Samuel Asiedu, alias Aban, the owner of A Class Washing Bay at Kawshieman, and four others for attempting to kidnap Adofo Twum, a mechanic, for ritual purposes.

The other accomplices are Mustapha Yaro, Alidu Iddrisu, Tanko Oumar and Godfred Kyei. They were arrested when they were spotted at the junction between the TV3 offices and the French Embassy in Accra forcing the victim into a car in broad daylight.

The suspect is alleged to have called the victim on phone and invited him to meet him at the spot for a business deal.

According to the Deputy Director of the CID, Mr Patrick Ampewuah, on December 15, 2006, two men went to the house of the victim (Adofo Twum) at Abeka Lapaz but he was not at home.

Mr Ampewuah said the following morning, Asiedu called Twum on his cell phone and told him that some people needed a washing machine to buy but he could not meet with them.

The Deputy Director said on December 20, 2006 Aban again called Twum that some people had a broken-down washing machine which they wanted him to come and have look at.

Twum was said to have told Aban that he and those people should organise to bring the machine to his shop but they never turned up.

At this stage, the complainant became suspicious, and he reported the matter to the police, who asked him to inform the police any time he had a call from Aban.

Mr Ampewuah said on December 21, 2006, Aban again called the complainant on phone that he was sending his driver with ¢3 million for the complainant to buy Aban a washing machine.

He said later, someone who gave his name as Godfred Kyei and driver of Aban called and Twum told him that he was in the vicinity of the TV3 offices at Kanda, and asked Kyei to meet him there.

He quickly called the police and a group of policemen were dispatched to the area to lay ambush. He said while there, they spotted Asiedu sitting in front of an unregistered green VW Golf car, with three machomen sitting in the back seat.

He said on spotting the complainant, two of the machomen came down and started forcing him into a taxi but he raised an alarm and the police pounced on them and arrested them.

Upon interrogation, Aban claimed that they were sent by Owusu Bempah, an Accra businessman, to kidnap the complainant and bring him to his house.