Five Highway Robbery Suspects Arrested

Five suspects alleged to have robbed some traders of their mobile phones, money and other valuable items at Tinga-Junction, near New Longoro on the Wenchi-Bamboi Highway, have been arrested.

Using an AK 47 rifle and a magazine containng 23 rounds of ammunition at dawn on May 25, 2011, the suspects, believed to be of Fulani extraction, were alleged to have attacked the victims, who were on board three different vehicles with registration numbers, GR 1740 K, GW 2296 Z and GW 6782 U, which were travelling from Bamboi to Accra.

The robbers, who did not mount any road block as some normally do, were said to have used police accoutrement, including uniforms and flashlights, to stop the drivers of the vehicles and robbed the passengers.

The names of the suspects were given only as Shaibu, 30; Dauda, 27; Yusif, 23; Issah, 21 and Ali Sidibe, were alleged to have operated, with 10 others currently on the run.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Anane Danquah, the Wenchi Divisional Commander and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Emmanuel Lartey Lawson, the Crime Officer, who briefed the Daily Graphic on the incident at Wenchi said after collecting the booty from their victims, the robbers entered a nearby bush.

However, with assistance from people in the community, the police managed to apprehend them.

As a result of the spate of armed robberies on the Wenchi-Bamboi highway, the authorities have formed patrol teams to curb the menace by escorting vehicles from both ends of the highway.

According to the police, on the fateful day, one team was escorting vehicles from New Longoro towards Wenchi and beyond while another group led some vehicles from Techiman heading towards Bamboi.

They said, about five kilometres from the New Longoro police barrier, the team which was on its way to Wenchi-Techiman, received a call from personnel at the barrier that three vehicles on their way to Techiman had been attacked by robbers, numbering about 10 at Tinga-Junction.

When the police quickly reached the scene, the robbers had escaped but they managed to arrest five of them.

The police officers said at an identification parade mounted at the Wenchi divisional headquarters, one of the victims identified Shaibu and Dauda as among the robbers.

Meanwhile, the Wenchi court has remanded the suspects in prison custody.