The police have arrested the owner of a shrine after a gang of seven attacked miners near Antobia in the Western North Region.
The suspect, Victor Biney, alias “Abeiku”, was arrested during an operation at the shrine at Attakrom in the Juaboso District.
A search conducted on the premises revealed one military camouflage shirt, one pair of handcuffs, two machetes, one single-barrel gun, forehead flashlights, 17 AAA live cartridges and five smocks.
The others are one plastic basin containing particles of gold concentrate, mercury, the butt of a pump-action gun and other items.
Report
A police report said at about 2 a.m. last Monday, the complainant, Alex Owusu, reported that while he and others were mining at their site near Antobia, seven masked young men armed with pump-action and single-barrel guns attacked them.
The suspects assaulted the victims with cutlasses and robbed them of their gold concentrate (black) and mobile phones.
“Three robbers wore smocks, one decorated with talismans, and one wore a military camouflage shirt.
The complainant indicated these items could be identified.
“Upon receipt of the report, officers aboard a service vehicle, with assistance from a private cyber specialist, tracked one of the stolen mobile phones. The signal led the team to a shrine at Attakrom, a cottage community within Juaboso,” it said.
Owner
The shrine, the report said, was owned by suspect Victor Biney, who is already facing charges in multiple robbery and murder cases before the Bibiani Circuit Court.
Though he was not on the premises when the police arrived at the shrine and conducted the search, the report said the officers, nonetheless, undertook the exercise in the presence of other witnesses.
The suspect was arrested later and was arraigned before the Juaboso District Court, where he had been remanded into police custody to reappear on December 8, 2025.
Strenuous efforts, it said, were ongoing to trace and arrest the remaining accomplices.
Exhibits
The report said all exhibits were conveyed to the station.
“While returning from the search operation, police encountered suspect Victor Biney, alias Abeiku, on the way and arrested him.
“At the station, the suspect identified and admitted ownership of: the gun, cartridges, handcuffs, one flashlight, all smocks, machetes, military camouflage shirt and other retrieved items,” it said.
The complainant and victims, it said, also identified the items used by the robbers - three flashlights, mercury, gold concentrate particles, three smocks and a military camouflage shirt.
