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The two police officers who were allegedly sleeping on duty when seven suspected armed robbers escaped from the cells at the Denu Police Station, in the Volta Region more than a week ago, have been interdicted.

They are Sergeant David Doe and Corporal Ernest Amankrah.

The interdiction follows their failure to meet the 10-day ultimatum issued to them by the Police Administration to produce the escapees.

A police spokesman who disclosed these to The Ghanaian Times here yesterday, said that the officers would now face either an internal service enquiry or appear before a special committee that would be set up by the Police Administration to probe them.

“This is a very serious matter to us and we will handle it as such, considering the fact that weapons were taken away by the suspects,” the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the manhunt for the fugitives continues. None of the suspects has been re-arrested at the time of filing this report.

The suspects fled with two AK 47 assault rifles and 25 rounds of ammunition at about 1.30 am on March 12.

Togbi Amenya Fiti V, Paramount Chief of Aflao, who broke the news to the Ghanaian Times on telephone that day, said that the escape from cells had thrown Aflao and Denu into a state of terror.

He said that soon after the incident, a member of the public who had earlier helped to arrest one of the suspect, embarked on a demonstration by burning lorry tyres on the streets of Denu to protest against the “failure of the police to keep the suspects in custody”.

According to Togbi Fiti, the demonstrator who became a prosecution witness in the trial of one of the suspects, said he had received numerous death threats from the suspects after the court hearings.

“Now we are all worried to have these dangerous criminals on the loose because we do not know when they will strike again,” the chief said.

When contacted that day, Mr P. Y. Gyinae, Volta Regional Police Commander, confirmed the story and stopped short of saying: “We are combing everywhere to re-arrest the suspects as soon as possible”.

Investigations by the Ghanaian Times later revealed that the duty officers were drunk and asleep in a tent at a distance from the station.