<<Print>>

THE TEMA Regional Police Command has, in a joint military and police operation, arrested five land guards who are said to be terrorising residents within the Ashaiman municipality. The names of the five suspects were given as Abraham Kwetey, 25, carpenter; Louis Asare, a 28-year-old Mason; Kofi Salifu, 35, driver; Deobgey Vedoh, 24, also a mason, and Adul-Rahim Sakibu, a 24-year-old labourer. According to ACP Augustine Gyening who spoke to DAILY GUIDE, the police have for some time now been receiving several complaints from residents and land developers of Gbetsile, Zenu, Adjei Kojo and Sun City, suburbs of Ashaiman, about persons believed to be land guards who, according the Commander, terrorize them, and in some cases issue death threats to some owners of lands within the mentioned areas. He continued that in order to help safeguard the lives of the people and help them go about their normal activities without any fear, a team comprising of military and police personnel moved to the above mentioned areas in the early hours of Tuesday and arrested the five suspected land guards. The Commander told this paper that items found on the suspects at the time of their arrest included one locally manufactured pistol, 75 wrappers of substances suspected to be Indian hemp, dried leaves wrapped in cement paper, also suspected to be Indian hemp, two unregistered motor bikes, one registered motor bike with registration number GE 8620 Z, one bicycle, two machetes, a saw, a pair of scissors and a military uniform. ACP Gyening mentioned that the suspects operated as land guards during the day time and as armed robbers who terrorize the people in the community at night. He added that the police was especially on the lookout for a certain T.T. who is believed to be the man behind those brewing trouble in Ashaiman and its environs. They reportedly quickly go into hiding anytime the police come after them. He opined that the land guards were flourishing because they are believed to have been getting a lot of support from some chiefs. He expressed worry over such situations and explained that when land guards get support from people who are respected in society, they tend to disregard everyone else. He condemned the attitude of some chiefs who are said to be hindering the work of the police by shielding persons suspected to be land guards. He thus appealed to the general public, especially chiefs, to desist from encouraging the youth into acts that could create problems for society as a whole. However when DAILY GUIDE spoke to some of the suspects who had been arrested they denied being land guards and robbers, and claimed that none of the items mentioned above were found on them when they were arrested.