Two suspected armed robbers have been shot dead at Manso Nkwanta and six others arrested on the Ejura-Mampong highway in connection with separate robbery attacks in the Ashanti Region.
At Manso Nkwanta, the two armed robbers were gunned down when they attempted to rob a gold dealer along the Agyagyekrom-Asuadei road.
Three of the five-man robbery gang managed to escape, while the bodies of the deceased robbers have been deposited at the Agroyesum Hospital morgue.
Facts
According to the Ashanti Regional Police Command, the six suspected robbers mounted a roadblock on the Ejura-Mampong road and robbed drivers and passengers of their valuables.
The police named the suspects as Ibrahim Mamudu, aka Alijumah, 35; Kofi Azumah, aka Adama or Taller, 30; Issaka Hamidu, aka Musah, 25; and Issaka Abubakar, 25.
Seidu Osman, aka Seidu Mampiece or Alhaji, 43, and Ali Issaka, aka Sariki, 42, are two accomplices.
A seventh person known only as Ali, is at large, but the police have placed a bounty on him for his arrest.
Police briefing
The Deputy Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr Osei Kwaku Ampofo-Duku, told journalists in Kumasi yesterday that the police picked intelligence that the robbers had planned to rob the gold dealer and, therefore, laid ambush to foil their effort.
While lying in wait, the robbers, wielding pump action guns and a locally manufactured pistol, arrived at the scene of the incident and began firing at the gold dealer, but missed him narrowly.
When they saw that the police had closed in on them, they engaged the police in a fierce gun battle, leading to the death of the two robbers and three others absconding.
Regarding the Ejura-Mampong road incident, Mr Ampofo-Duku said about 5:45 p.m. last Thursday, the suspects, Mamudu, Azumah, Hamidu and Abubakar, armed with two single-barrelled guns and a locally manufactured pistol, blocked the Mampong-Agona road on the outskirts of Agona Bipoa and attacked drivers and passengers.
They are said to have fired several shots and robbed victims of unspecified amounts of money and mobile phones.
Arrest
A day after the robbery, the suspects boarded a mini-bus from Agona to Kumasi and were stopped on their way at a police barrier.
Sensing danger, they alighted and took to their heels. Luck eluded them leading to the arrest of the six, while Ali managed to escape.
The police retrieved 18 mobile phones and GH¢8,716 from the suspects.
One of the suspects, Alijumah, who happened to be the leader of the group, led the police to retrieve the guns, the pistol and 20 live BB cartridges from the bush.
Link-man
The suspects mentioned Osman as the intermediary between them and the suppliers of the weapons — Sariki, a bicycle repairer at Alabar, and one Ali, both in Kumasi.
The police also retrieved one locally manufactured pistol and two live BB cartridges from Osman’s residence in Atimatim Taabuom.
ACP Ampofo-Duku added that Osman also facilitated the movement of the robbers by conveying them around in his taxi.
Some of the victims of their robbery attacks have since visited the police command to identify the suspects.
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