Police officers

 A total of 522 suspected criminals have been picked up by the Ashanti Regional Police Command.

This was after the Police embarked on separate swoops in 44 of its districts in the past few weeks.

Armed police officers raided some hideouts of criminals, destroyed and set them ablaze as part of a continuous pledge to rid the region of criminal activities.

“As part of measures to rid the Ashanti Region of criminal elements, the 44 police districts within the region have embarked on series of separate swoops within the past weeks, and we have been able to arrest 522 suspects. Some of the suspects are assisting with the investigation,” Police Public Relations Officer, for the Ashanti Region, ASP Godwin Ahianyo, said.

Other suspects, according to the police, are being profiled for further actions, while those who will be found culpable will be made to face the law.

Several exhibits including substances suspected to be Indian Hemp, machetes, pairs of scissors, mobile phones and drinks suspected to be laced with marijuana among others were retrieved from the suspects.

Those suspects, who were found with the cannabis, will be handed over to the drug enforcement unit and the exhibit taken to the forensic lab for analysis.

“The Command will still advise the public to come to the police with every information that they have so that we will be able to fight crime together,” ASP Ahianyo appealed.

The Ashanti Region has in the past months recorded violent crimes, some of which have resulted in the loss of lives, caused life-altering injuries to victims, and damage to property.