More suspected robbers arrested; One involved in Lebanese shooting

Three suspected armed robbers, including a member of the gang that attacked Royal Motors Limited in Accra and killed the Lebanese cashier in Tema, have been arrested.

The police, who effected the arrest of the three last Monday, gave their names as Hila Abdul Ahmeen, alias Illa, 31, who was part of the gang in the two infamous robbery incidents, and his ‘apprentice’ robber, Iddris Yusif, alias Iddi, 26.

The third suspect, Wisdom Cudjoe Amede, was arrested in respect of robbery cases around the Teshie Estates, Tema, Achimota and North Kaneshie between 2016 and last year.

Amede, who is an ex-convict, is alleged to have told the police that he was yet to commit any robbery this year

Intelligence

The Director-General in charge of the Police Intelligence Directorate, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Christian Tetteh Yohuno, said Illa, as he is known among his colleague armed robbers, was part of the gang that robbed Royal Motors and also killed the Lebanese cashier.

He said the gang used Illa’s white Toyota Corolla for the operation in Tema.

According to him, Illa had rented three different apartments at Dansoman, Sukura and Nima, one of which was being occupied by his girlfriend.

The suspect, who is said to have a number of horsepower motorbikes and two cars, is also reported to be putting up a storey building at Sukura.

Mr Yohuno said Illa was also involved in another robbery incident involving a lady, popularly known as Hajia, in which the robbers threatened to slit the throat of a three-month-old baby if its mother did not surrender her jewellery and other valuables to the gang.

He said at the time of Illa’s arrest, his accomplice, Iddi, was with him and he too was subsequently arrested.

According to him, Illa claimed Iddi was only involved in car break-ins.

Royal Motors

The arrest of Illa brings to four the number of persons arrested in connection with the Royal Motors Limited robbery and the killing of the Lebanese cashier in Tema.

The first, Salami Issah Osman, alias Bebe, was arrested at Ashala, near Amasaman, on March 1, while Kamaru Ibrahim, alias Anokwaletse, was arrested at the Asawase Royal area in Kumasi on March 10, 2018.

The suspected ringleader, Alhassan Illiasu, alias Arabman, 36, was picked up at Ashaiman Roman Down about 8:30 p.m. last Sunday, March 11.

Jordan

Mr Yohuno said Amede, who is also said to be putting up a storey building at Ashalaja, near Accra, was wanted for a number of robberies, including breaking into a vehicle belonging to a policeman and picking his pistol.

He said the suspect had mentioned Amberwear, who was arrested last Friday, as his accomplice in breaking into cars.

Snap checks

Mr Yohuno said the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr David Asante-Apeatu, had also directed the immediate resumption of snap checks in the Accra metropolis and other urban centres across the country.

The IGP has also directed the deployment of both armed mobile and foot patrol teams in Accra

He told the Daily Graphic that the IGP had also directed divisional and district commanders to take charge of the patrol teams to ensure professionalism and discipline in police patrols and snap checks.

He said security had also been beefed up in all crime-prone areas to enable the police to deal with emergencies.

Open doors

Mr Yohuno said the police had also stepped up their intelligence gathering to enable them to deal with crimes before they were committed.

He, therefore, appealed to the public to assist the police with relevant information on criminals and their hideouts for the police to flush them out.

“We want to be proactive in taking the fight to the criminals, hence the reactivation of all the operations,” he stated.

Mr Yohuno also appealed to landlords to endeavour to check the backgrounds of their tenants, especially, to know them better, before renting out their apartments to them.

He also urged Ghanaians to endeavour to be one another’s keeper by seeking the welfare of their neighbours.