Police in Kumasi arrest five mobile phones snatchers

Kumasi, Jan. 24, GNA - The Kumasi police have arrested five persons, three men and two women, suspected to be members of a mobile phone snatching syndicate operating around Maakro-Junction, Suame and New Tafo in the Kumasi metropolis.

They are Yaw Boomen, 18, a Frafra domiciled at Adankwame near Barekese in the Atwima-Nwabiagya District, Kofi Nti, 27, who lives at New Tafo in Kumasi and Emmanuel Kwame Quist, 21, who also resides at Bohyen, a suburb of Kumasi.

The women are Fati Adamu alias Ebu, 23, a hairdresser at Moshie Zongo and one Lebanese with four different names. She is called Baby, Afua Broni, Afua Takyiwa and Anne Roberts.

Briefing newsmen in Kumasi on Monday on the incident, the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Frank Adu-Poku, Ashanti Regional Police Commander, said there were two accomplices who were on the run and named them as Ofosu and Bright Awudu.

He said one Kwame Asafo-Adjei a victim reported to the police at New Tafo that he boarded a taxi driven by Kofi Nti on January 5 from Maakro-Junction to New Tafo.

Asafo-Adjei said when the car set off on one of the suspects he could not identify attempted to pick his mobile phone and this led to a struggle in the car.

ACP Adu-Poku said the driver who feigned sympathy for him initially instead of driving them to the Suame Police Station sped on and stopped at African Child Restaurant at New Tafo where they threw the victim out of the moving vehicle.

The Regional Police Commander said the victim who sustained injuries on his body and head reported the case to the New Tafo police whose investigations led to the arrest of the suspects at their hideouts.

He said the exercise was part of the police's efforts to rid the metropolis and the Region of all mobile phone snatchers and other criminal activities.

ACP Adu-Poku urged the public to come to the Central Police Station to identify the suspects who were in police custody. He asked all those who had purchased mobile phones from suspected individuals should bring them to the police to avoid being prosecuted when the police get to know them through the suspects.