A crack team of police officers have been deployed to the Manso area in the Ashanti Region to help arrest a group of armed robbers who shot and killed a police officer with the Special Weapon and Tactics  Unit (SWAT).

The officers were onboard a Sprinter bus with registration AC-644-15 when the armed men attacked them at the outskirts of Ayirebikrom on Wednesday.

Lance Corporal Tieku was shot in the abdomen and was pronounced dead on arrival at Saint Martins Hospital at Agroyesum, while his colleague, Lance Corporal Nsiah was treated and discharged for shoulder injuries.

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Four other passengers have since remained on admission.

It is not clear yet the motive for the attacks.

No arrests have been made but the police have already retrieved four AK 47 assault rifles including two seized from the police officers and two others believed to have been used for the operation- Pump Action guns, G3 and SMG assault rifles at Dome Beposo near Manso Nkwanta.

The items were retrieved in a bush around Dome Piposo, a suburb of the Ashanti Region.

DSP Juliana Obeng who speaks for the Ashanti regional police command said: “We have detailed men on stand-by at the Manso area not just particularly where the incident happened but of course a coverage so we are able to arrest these suspects to be able to deal with them”.

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She recounted how hard the command has been hit by the incident.

She says police will do everything possible to pursue and arrest the miscreants whose operations put lives of the people at risk.

The Amansie West District Security Committee in May this year expressed worry at the volatility of the criminal activities in the area.

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the influx of people as a result of booming illegal mining activities has not only increased the rate of crime, including robbery but also increased illicit proliferation of arms.

Chairman of the security committee,  William Bediako Asante said the situation has claimed some lives as police struggle to contain the situation.