79 more suspected criminals nabbed

Seventy-nine more suspected criminals, including seven women, were arrested in Accra last Saturday in another police swoop to rid the national capital of crime.

The operation, which was led by the Regional Police Operations Officer, Chief Superintendent Christian Tetteh Yohuno, and 300 police officers drawn from the various units, covered the Achimota charcoal loading station, the Achimota Presbyterian Church area, the Lighthouse at James Town, Sahara at Adabraka, Bukom in central Accra and Odorna along the railway lines.

In a similar raid last week, the police rounded up 200 suspected criminals at Dansoman, Odorkor, Nima and Kwashieman.

The suspects were taken unawares in their hideouts allegedly using or processing illicit drugs to be sold to clients who were waiting to be served.

Items found on some of them included machetes, mobile phones, fresh and dried leaves and seeds suspected to be Indian hemp, Indian hemp coctions, kitchen knives, pliers, screw drivers and pairs of scissors.

One of the suspects had in his possession a fake police identification card (ID) on him.

In an interview, Supt Tetteh Yohuno told the Daily Graphic that the exercise formed part of efforts by the Ghana Police Service to rid the society of illicit drugs.

He labelled the areas of the operation as hideouts for criminals, adding that the hideouts had been targeted by the police for a long time.

He described the exercise as successful, considering the number of suspects arrested.

"These suspects are the same people who use these drugs and later get on the streets to engage in various criminal activities," Supt. Tetteh noted.

He said residents had expressed gratitude for the exercise and stated that the suspects would be processed and prosecuted as soon as possible.

He said it was important for people to recognise such exercises as critical to their security, for which reason they must provide the needed co-operation and support to assist the police in the fight against drugs and crime.

Supt. Yonuno expressed the hope that the exercise would be sustained to effectively eradicate the drug menace.

Later in an address at the Police Headquarters, the Director-General in charge of Operations, DCOP Patrick Timbillah, said the exercise was part of a nation-wide grand action plan put in place by the service to flush out criminals and also ensure peace and security before, during and after the December elections.

"The police are determined to carry the war to the doorstep of the criminals and it •is better they change their ways," he warned.

DCOP Timbillah took the opportunity to call on the public to provide the police with credible information to assist them in their operations.

The Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Police Service, DSP Kwesi Ofori, expressed the service's commitment to maintain peace and security in the country.