Police alert motorists to criminals posing as hawkers

The Accra Regional Police Command has issued an alert, warning motorists about criminals who pose as hawkers or persons jogging but who attack unsuspecting persons.

The alert comes after the police realised an increase in attacks on unsuspecting motorists on some roads, particularly the Fiesta Royale Hotel-GIMPA road, in Accra.

The suspected criminals are said to use various methods to attack their victims, including deliberately placing objects on the stretch of the road that punctures tyres of vehicles, forcing motorists to stop to fix the problem. The criminals then rob them, using knives to threaten and demand money from their victims.

Sometimes too they rob drivers of their valuables when there is a traffic jam.

Multiple cases
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police Mrs Afia Tenge, said the suspected criminals took advantage of the Achimota Forest and the bush by the roadside to escape after succeeding in attacking their victims.

She said multiple incidents of motorists and some residents being attacked had been recorded by the police which had, in some cases, succeeded in arresting the suspects.

"It is difficult to arrest such suspects, as they usually take cover in the forest. We want the public to be cautious when they use that particular portion of the road, especially during the festive season", Mrs Tenge said.

"From the complaints of some of the victims, the criminals pretend to be hawking on the street and end up attacking motorists. We are urging all motorists to be vigilant and alert.

“Also, we have found out that when there is a traffic jam and vehicles are moving slowly, criminals take advantage of drivers whose glasses are low and take any valuable item they can get hold of and take cover in the Achimota Forest”, she said.

The PRO, therefore, advised "vehicle owners to be mindful and not leave their valuables in places in their cars where criminals can reach or can see through the glass".

Arrest and retrieved items
Mrs Tenge indicated that since January 2019, the police had arrested and prosecuted six of the criminals in connection with attacks on road users.

She said various items, including ladies’ handbags, mobile phones, passports and keys were retrieved from the suspects.

Most of the items, she said, had been identified and handed over to their owners, while the police had intensified patrols in the endemic areas.

For instance, she said, Kwame Adjei, who was arrested on September 24, this year, after snatching a ladies' handbag on the Fiesta Royale Hotel-GIMPA road, has been sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment by the Amasaman Circuit Court.

Mrs Tenge said before his arrest, Adjei usually pretended to be jogging on the pavement near the CP Roundabout and physically attacked his victims very early in the morning.