Police grab kingpins in robbery

The police have made two major arrests in connection with the Royal Motors Limited robbery, the killing of the Lebanese cashier in Tema and the Kwabenya cell break.

The arrest of Kamaru Ibrahim, alias Anokwaletse, whose gang was involved in both the Royal Motors robbery and the killing of the Lebanese cashier, and Emmanuel Kotey, one of the escapees in the Kwabenya cell break, comes on the heels of other major arrests made between March 5 and 10, 2018.

Eleven suspects were arrested from March 5 to 10, 2018.

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr David Asante-Apeatu, told the Daily Graphic in Accra last Saturday that the police were on the heels of many other suspects whose identities were being shelved.

He said the arrest of Kotey, whose picture the police did not have at the time of his escape, should send a signal to the rest of the criminals that the police were on their heels.

Details

Briefing the Daily Graphic in the presence of the Director-General in charge of Intelligence, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Christian Tetteh Yohuno, and the Accra Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Mr George Alex Mensah, Mr Asante-Apeatu said a collaboration between the Intelligence Directorate of the Ghana Police Service and the Accra and Ashanti Regional Police commands led to the arrest of Ibrahim and six other suspects at the Asawase Royal area in Kumasi last Saturday, March 10, 2018.

The other suspects, he said, were Safianu Mohammed Waheed Kwashie, alias Brisco; Farouk Mohammed, alias Alhaji; Tahiru Abubakar, alias Remember, alias Taller; Yussif Ismail, Faisal Mohammed, alias Dentini, and Ibrahim Anyass, alias Royal.

He said the Kumasi operation, which was led by the Manhyia Divisional Police, also resulted in the retrieval of a number of items from the suspects, including a vehicle and three unregistered motorbikes.

Mr Asante-Apeatu said at the time of his arrest, Ibrahim, 26, was driving a blue-black Hyundai Elantra saloon car with a DV number plate — DV 3759 A-18 — with a Ghana Police Service emblem embossed on the right-hand corner of the windscreen.

According to him, the police retrieved mobile phones from the suspects, including four iPhones, two Samsung, two Techno, two Nokia and one Itel phones.

He said the police also retrieved one face mask from Ibrahim’s car, while a total of GH¢5,732 was retrieved from all the suspects. 

Interrogation

Mr Asante-Apeatu said during interrogation, Ibrahim allegedly stated, among other things, that he was part of the group of armed robbers who had robbed and killed the Lebanese in Tema on Wednesday, February 28 and robbed Royal Motors  on Tuesday, February 27, 2018.

Kwabenya

On Kotey’s arrest, the IGP said the suspect was arrested in Asamankese on Friday, March 9, 2018 following a tip-off.

He recalled that at the time of the Kwabenya cell break on January 21, 2018, the police did not have Kotey’s picture, resulting in some members of the public believing that he would never be arrested.

He said the creation of the Police Intelligence Directorate would fill a major void in the fight against crime.

Kotey’s arrest brings to four the number of escapees from the Kwabenya Police cells who have been rearrested.

Currently, about 12 individuals, including three of the escapees — Prince Osei, Atta Kwadwo and Kofi Darko — are standing trial in connection with the cell break, which resulted in the death of Assistant Superintendent of Police Mr Emmanuel Ashilivi.

Osei and Atta have been sentenced to two-and-a-half years each for escaping from lawful custody.

Forex bureaux

Mr Asante-Apeatu said another suspect, Kesiena Blessing Kagi, alias KessBillions, 21, was arrested by the Baatsona Divisional Police at his hideout at Community 20 in Tema on Friday, March 9, 2018.

He said KessBillions, as he was popularly known among his fellow criminals, was on the police wanted list for the robbery of a forex bureau at Teshie on Wednesday, January 31, 2018.

KessBillions was also said to have led a gang of robbers to attack a company at Community Nine Light Industrial Area, Tema. 

The IGP said other suspects in the forex bureaux robbery gang — Prince Wanganga, Gift Wanganga, alias Festus; John Ani, Prince Yfuah and Okoro Amulley — had been arrested earlier in other operations and were already in custody.

He said KessBillions and the other five suspects were all Nigerians.

He said a check on KessBillions’s passport, Nigeria passport number A07598838, issued on August 9, 2016 and due to expire on August 8, 2021, revealed that he was a native of Warri, Nigeria.

KessBillions frequently comes to Ghana, with his last being on January 19, 2018, with a 90-day stay permit.

Other arrests

Mr Asante-Apeatu said another suspect, Baba Issah, alias Amberwear, who was involved in the killing of an Okada rider around Radio Gold in 2017, was also arrested on March 7, 2018.

He said the police had also arrested a suspected robber whose speciality was breaking into vehicles and stealing valuables.

The suspect, William Asilijo, alias Kuuku, he said, was currently in custody.

Public support

The IGP appealed to members of the public to support the police with information, since security was a shared responsibility.

He said with the arrest of some of the suspects, a major part of the work had been accomplished and assured all that the remaining suspects would be arrested sooner than later.

He commended members of the public who had been collaborating with the police so far.