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The police arrested 30 suspected criminals at Bantama in Kumasi on Tuesday during a swoop. The suspects, including a female, were arrested by the police at some �ghettos� at Bantama at about 4pm. ASP Mohammed Yussif Tanko, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ashanti Regional Police Command, said the police acted upon intelligence. He said the exercise would be sustained to reduce crime in the area. Criminal activities have been rampant in the city lately. Four people, two at Ash Town and one each at Dichemso and Bantama lost their lives after they were shot by some unknown gangsters in the last few days. These developments have caused fear and panic among residents of Kumasi and the Ashanti region in general as people feel insecure. ASP Tanko said the unannounced swoop formed part of measures adopted by the police to help curb the upsurge in crime in the city. Speaking to DAILY GUIDE, ASP Tanko said there would be an identification parade to boost investigations. He noted that items such as knives and dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp were found on the 30 suspects. The police, he disclosed, have decided to take the battle to the criminals at the various ghettos in the city. This new strategy, he said, would be implemented continuously to reduce crime to the barest minimum. ASP Tanko, who did not mince words, stated emphatically that the police would smoke out criminals in the city from their �holes.� The ploy is to make it impossible for criminals to assemble at a particular place and strike innocent people, he said.