Massive security at Kwahu Easter
To say that security was tight at the Kwahu Easter festivities would be an understatement. One would describe it as massive, with even daring and die-hard criminals afraid to commit crime.
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The heavy presence of the police and the military, who conducted both body searches and vehicular inspections, enabled revellers to enjoy the festival in a secure atmosphere.
Police personnel could also be seen along major routes and at major intersections directing traffic to ensure the free movement of both the heavy vehicular and human traffic.
According to the Nkawkaw Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent James Sarfo Peprah, the coordinated efforts of the security personnel ensured that nothing untoward happened during the festivities.
“The security beef-up worked perfectly on the ground and this enabled the men to work beyond expectation,” he told the Daily Graphic.
He commended the security agencies and revellers for their co-operation, which made Kwahu 2016 a huge success.
Low crime rate
Mr Peprah told the Daily Graphic that as a result of the vigilance of the police and military personnel, the crime rate during the Easter festivities at Kwahu was low, with only 12 cases of crime reported by Sunday morning.
These, he said, included two incidents of car snatching, four cases of pick-pocketing and possession of leaves suspected to be Indian hemp.
Car snatching
Narrating the car-snatching incidents, Mr Peprah said one involved the drugging of a taxi driver by passengers he had picked to the Loop Hills Hotel at Nkwatia.
He said the driver was drugged through fried rice they offered him when they got to the hotel. When the driver regained consciousness at about 9a.m. the following day, he realised that his car, Samsung mobile phone and GH¢100 were all gone and the car snatchers had since not been located.
He said the victims of the other incident, three men from Kasoa, were however, fortunate to have their car back. They had alighted to urinate on their way from Obomeng to Mpraeso through the Obeng bypass, when the suspect, Kwabena Obeng, 30, a resident of Dome in Accra, took advantage of the situation (an empty car with the key in the ignition), jumped in and sped off.
In the process, he ran the stolen Fiat Ponto car with registration number GW 8611-12 into three other cars and caused damage to them. The police patrol team at Obomeng Junction managed to apprehend the suspect who was subsequently detained by the police.
Pick pockets
Four pickpocket suspects, Frederick Oppong, 23; Essilfie Bright, 21; Adam Yakubu, 24 and Kwaku Antwi, 19, were arrested when Kweku Osei and Michael Kwaku Boateng reported to the police that at 3am that day, the suspects had robbed them of GH¢300 and their mobile phones.
According to Mr Peprah, Victor Asante, 22, was arrested for possessing 11 wraps of dry leaves suspected to be Indian hemp, while Stephen Adjei was also arrested for unlawful entry.
Unlicensed cars
True to their word to arrest people who drove unlicensed cars to the Easter festivities, the police impounded 22 cars.
The vehicles had been parked at the police’s temporary operations centre at Mpraeso when the Daily Graphic team called on the Divisional Police Commander last Sunday.
Writers’ emails: george.folley@graphic.com.gh / edmund.asante@graphic.com.gh