Suspected robber gunned down

Personnel of the Ghana Police Service in Kumasi, over the weekend, gunned down a suspected notorious armed robber who had been on the police wanted list in a shootout.

The team of police personnel was lead by the Deputy Regional Commander, DCOP Christian Yohuno.

The suspect, Kwabena Takyi,  alias Master Pee, a native  of Kwahu Nkwatia in the Eastern Region, was shot dead when he was about  to attack a hotel in Kumasi.

Briefing The Chronicle yesterday in Accra, the Director General of Police Operations, DCOP John Kudalor, indicated that the suspect and his gang members had been involved in a lot of robberies in Kumasi and Accra.

According to him, in the year 2008, the police in Kumasi received reports of various robbery cases within the metropolis. He noted that on October 9, 2008, a suspect, Eric Ahinkan, was arrested, and he mentioned suspect Kwabena Takyi as the chief architect behind the robberies.

He continued that on October 10, 2008, the deceased was also arrested in his hideout at Pataase, a suburb of Kumasi. Upon interrogation, the suspect, alias Master Pee, now deceased, admitted committing various robberies, and led the police to retrieve 13 cars he snatched at a gunpoint in Kumasi.

'Some of the cars he snatched at gunpoint include a Mercedes Benz with registration number AS1725Z, unregistered blue Rover, 4×4 Honda with registration number GT 1307 Z, Kia Pride with number GW 9595 W, KIA Pride with number AS2304 Z, KIA Pride with number GT4600 Q, unregistered KIA Pride, Opel Astra with number GR270 U, Citroen Xantia with number GT 1307 Z, and Hyundai Excel with number GW3302 Z,' he noted.

DCOP Kudalor noted that he fixed fake number plates on all the cars he snatched, and also tampered with the chassis numbers. He was then charged and put before a Circuit Court in Kumasi, and later granted bail.

He further narrated that whilst suspect Kwabena Takyi was in custody at the CID Headquarters, he informed some of the inmates that he would kill the Inspector who arrested him anytime he was released,

He said, true to his words, within three days of his release he shot and killed Inspector Nyame of the Kumasi Regional CID.

On January 13, 2010, the suspect and his accomplices attacked and robbed an American Ford 4×4 vehicle from the owner. On February 10, 2010, he again, planned to attack the household of an ex-Black Stars player at Afienya.

Upon a tip-off, the police quickly dispatched personnel to the area and arrested him with two pistols and five live ammunition at Kakasunaka, near Michel Camp.

He was arraigned before the Cocoa Affairs Court in Accra, and remanded, he was later granted bail by the court.

The Director General of Police Operations noted that six months after his bail, the suspect went back to Kumasi and snatched a Toyota Highlander 4×4 vehicle. In the process, one of his accomplices was arrested by the Kumasi police.

Upon interrogation, the accomplice mentioned Kwabena Takyi and one Agyemang as his accomplices in car snatching.

On October 10, 2011, at about 10:27 p.m., Kwabena Takyi trailed a Toyota Camry with registration number GC 4280 Z to the Ofankor barrier, a suburb of Accra, and snatched it at gunpoint.

According to the Director General, the owner of the said car hired a taxi and chased them, but sensing danger, the suspects drove the car into a ditch and abandoned it.

He said on November 12, 2011, the police had information about the car which was driven by Kwabena Takyi, he was chased by the police but managed to escape.

When the police were hunting for him, he immediately moved to Kumasi.

DCOP Kudalor said on March 17, 2012, the police administration in Accra had information that the suspect was going to attack a hotel in Kumasi.

He noted that a team of policemen was quickly dispatched from Accra. On reaching the hotel in Kumasi, the police realised that robbers had already taken accommodation and were ready to attack the hotel. They quickly moved into the hotel, but the suspect, sensing danger, quickly opened fire on them.

'Our men, who were then in bullet proof vests, responded quickly, and he was hit by a bullet, and whilst he was being conveyed to the hospital he died, but his accomplices managed to escape,' he noted

The hotel management told the police they did not know that the men were armed robbers.

The police retrieved an unregistered white Toyota Corrolla S, one foreign pistol, and two magazines with 27 rounds of ammunition.

He, however, urged hotel and guest house operators to ensure that they take identity cards, including photographs of their guests, and also to fix CCTV cameras to monitor the coming in and going out of visitors or guests who lodge in their hotels.

Meanwhile, the body of the deceased has since been deposited at the morgue of the Police Hospital.