4 Suspects back in police grip one month after their release
One month after the Accra Circuit Court had discharged four suspected persons, they have been arrested again on suspicion of using machetes to attack travellers at night around the Kaneshie Market Complex in Accra.
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The four, described as hardened criminals by the police, are believed to be members of different gangs and were arrested with the assistance of residents of Kaneshie.
They are said to have come together to form a gang of six and have been violently attacking passengers who disembark from buses in the night.
One of the suspects, Isaac Amoako, 20 years, is alleged to be the ringleader while the names of the rest of the gang members have been given as Albert Eshun, alias Awuley 22; Michael Nii Okine Abossey, 22 and 20-year old Lawrence Nii Armah Donkor. They are all unemployed.
Other suspects
Two other suspects whose names were given only as George and Kobby are currently on the run.
Another person, identified as Bright Twumasi, 18, a phone dealer, is being held by the police on suspicion of buying the stolen items from the suspected robbers.
During a search on the four suspects after their arrest, the police retrieved a machete and eight mobile phones from them.
They are said to have inflicted multiple wounds on some of their victims who struggled with them over their valuables.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Kaneshie District Police Commander, Chief Superintendent of Police Fleance Senam Adeka, said the suspects, in the past month, had been terrorising travellers in the area, and the police had since been on the lookout for them.
He said the suspects mostly attacked people at night at the Takoradi Station between the two footbridges at Kaneshie and occasionally at the traffic interchange known as Kaneshie First Light.
The robbers, he said, loitered around the Kaneshie Takoradi Station in the night with machetes hidden in their attires while they monitored travellers who disembarked from vehicles to probably look for a taxi or wait to be picked by a relation, in order to attack them.
“When they approach their victims, they pull out the machetes and demand mobile phones, money and some other valuables. In some cases when their victims resist, they inflict wounds on them.”
Arrest of ringleader
He said the ringleader, Amoako, was the first to be arrested at about 10 p.m. last Thursday, following the monitoring of his movements by the police.
After Amoako was arrested, the police traced the three other suspects who had gone into hiding at Pokuase in the Ga West Municipality.
They were arrested four hours later from their hideout at Pokuase at about 2 a.m. on Friday morning.
The police found that all the four suspects had been discharged by the Accra Circuit Court about a month ago after the Kaneshie Police had processed them for court for similar offences.
“Looking at the time we started receiving reports from victims, it shows that the suspects went into action again soon after they were discharged by the court. The people in the area who could not stand the daily attacks decided to help the police to clamp down such nefarious activities," said Mr Adeka.
In the past month, he said, the Kaneshie Police had received four reports from victims who claimed they were attacked separately after disembarking from a bus in the night at the Takoradi Kaneshie Station and the First Light area.
Other victims are said to have lodged complaints with the Central Police and Odorkor Police.
Writer’s email:emelia.ennin@graphic.com.gh