The Axim Divisional Police Command in the Western Region has arrested three suspected armed robbers in an intelligence-led operation at their hideout.

The suspects have been identified as Emmanuel Arthur, alias Possible, and Elisha Arthur, alias Sconzy, both aged 21, and David Agyarko, alias Big Man, aged 22.

In a statement, the police explained that intelligence revealed the trio were wanted in connection with a series of robbery incidents within the Tarkwa Nsuaem enclave.

They have been transferred to the Western Central Police Command to assist with further investigations.

 

 

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Kwame Asare, who was declared wanted by the Police following the emergence of a viral video that showed a group of men assaulting police officers, was reportedly arrested at Enchi in the Western North Region.

According to the report, he was spotted by some residents of Enchi under a tree eating and they alerted the police to round him up.

Information gathered indicates that the Enchi police are taking steps to transfer the suspect to Axim Police where the substantive case is under investigation.

Kwame Asare spoke from a hideout explaining the circumstances under which he was captured in a standoff with some police officers.

According to him, he is not an armed robber as described by the Ghana Police Service but rather an informant to the police in the Axim area.

Speaking earlier with the television station Kwame said he has over the period of one year been working with the police as an informant and a liaison between the police and some illegal miners in the area.

He stated that aside collecting money from illegal miners on behalf of the police, he and his gang had also been providing security and fighting criminals in the area with the support and approval of the police.

But addressing the circumstance leading to his fallout with the police, Kwame Asare said he received a payment of GHC100,000 from some illegal miners but failed to deliver the money to the police after he felt being cheated by the police in previous deals.

“The people in the town I live in all know that I work with the police. Police officers troop to my house at least five times in a day just to come and receive monies. Sometimes they don’t leave if they don’t see me. I give them money all the time.

“The actual reason the police are after me is that they sent me to collect one billion (GH₵100,000.00) from a site at Kwakukrom but I refused to hand over the money to them. That is the reason why they are angry with me.

“I didn’t give the money because I felt cheated after working with them all this while. They were only giving me small sums of thousand or two thousand every time…

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“It is because of the one billion I took and failed to give to them that they are accusing me of being a robber. But I am not an armed robber, nobody can prove that I have ever robbed their site. Sarfo (Axim Police Commander) told me to bring the one billion before they will release my car and other machines which they have seized,” he said.

On Sunday, April 2, 2023, there was reported viral video in which a supposed leader of the gang was seen accosting a police officer and accusing the officer of attempting to arrest him after he had given him money.

Subsequently, the Ghana Police Service later on Sunday released a statement which said it arrested some four men on March 28 after the Axim Divisional Police Patrol Team reported an attack on them by a gang.

According to the police, it also conducted a search at the residence of Kwame Asare where some weapons and other items were retrieved.

“On March 9, this year, the Axim Divisional Police patrol team reported an attack on the team by a gang that seized the magazine of a Service rifle together with some mobile phones belonging to the Police officers.

“An intelligence operation was immediately launched after the report to get the suspects arrested.

“On March 28, 2023, after about three weeks of the intelligence operation, four men, Kojo Siah alias Mozey; Emmanuel Mensah alias Kofi Asamoah, Maxwell Cudjoe and Agyabu Haruna Dissawu were arrested for their suspected involvement in the attack.

“A search conducted at the residence of Kwame Ato Asare Ani, the prime suspect, who is still on the run, led to the retrieval of three pump-action shotguns.

“Also, one pump-action shotgun, machetes and eight BB refilled cartridges were retrieved from the suspect’s unregistered Honda CRV vehicle. Other items retrieved from the suspects include two live refilled BB cartridges and one unregistered motorbike,” the police statement said.

The statement added that the police became aware of the video showing the confrontation between some police officers and the arrested gang in which the police were pleading with the gang members over an extortion allegation.

According to the statement, the allegation of extortion has since been referred to the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB) for investigation.

In the said video, the leader of the gang is heard shouting at a group of police officers saying “You asked me to show you something and I showed it to you. Now I ask you to drop me the car and you insist that you are sending me away. Where were you sending me to? You came to demand money at the site and we gave you everything. After that, I asked you to drop me from the car and yet you insisted on sending me. So, if I had not asked someone to block the road with a motorbike you would have sent me away,” the gang leader was heard furiously confronting a member of a group of police officers with a patrol car in what looked like a forest.

As the confrontation raged on, the leader of the gang was heard shouting various commands at his group while the police officers bent on their knees pleading.

“Kwame we beg you,” one of the officers stated as he held on to his rifle from being taken away from him by the gang leader.

The galamseyers humiliated the policemen they accused of collecting bribes from them and attempted to arrest one of them.

The policemen numbering about four were captured in a viral video from a suspected galamsey site where they had gone to demand for money but the exercise backfired with an embarrassing outcome.

The suspected galamsey boys subjected them to humiliation with the policemen going on their knees.

Per the video sighted by DGN Online, the aggrieved youth who outnumbered the police personnel who came in a blue police vehicle in a bush, expressed anger over the constant harassment by the officers albeit insatiable demand for bribes.

One of the angry galamsey boys wearing a military camouflage was seen in the video attempting to manhandle an officer by trying to seize his weapon.

The angry civilian questioned why the officers were trying to extort money from them after they had settled their demands earlier.

The viral video gives insight of the familiarity between the police officers and the aggrieved youth who were using motorbike in the bush.

The police officers appeared to have been stopped by these civilians, who seemed to wield so much power and influence.

At a point, one of the hapless police officers started appealing to their conscience by using their relationship as a bargaining chip for them to compromise.

The uniform of one of the police officers was seized and there was also an attempt to seize an assault rifle; that was when a policeman had to kneel before them pleading profusely.

Painfully, several people on social media have reacted to the video by stating their frustration about a police officer bowing and paying the utmost respect to civilians who they were supposed to arrest for their illegal activities.

The video has since caused a stir on social media.

Watch the videos below:

According to them, the allegation of extortion by the officers in the video by the suspects has been forwarded to the Police Professional Standards Bureau for investigation.

On March 9, this year, the Axim Divisional Police patrol team reported an attack on the team by a gang that seized the magazine of a Service rifle together with some mobile phones belonging to the Police officers.

An intelligence operation was immediately launched after the report to get the suspects arrested.

On March 28, 2023, after about three weeks of the intelligence operation, four men, Kojo Siah alias Mozey; Emmanuel Mensah alias Kofi Asamoah, Maxwell Cudjoe and Agyabu Haruna Dissawu were arrested for their suspected involvement in the attack.

A search conducted at the residence of Kwame Ato Asare Ani, the prime suspect, who is still on the run, led to the retrieval of three pump-action shotguns.

Also, one pump-action shotgun, machetes and eight BB refilled cartridges were retrieved from the suspect’s unregistered Honda CRV vehicle.

Other items retrieved from the suspects include two live refilled BB cartridges and one unregistered motorbike.

On April 1, 2023, while the investigations were ongoing to get the remaining suspects arrested, the attention of the Police was drawn to video footage in which the said Police personnel, members of the Axim Patrol team, are shown pleading with members of the gang while the gang is alleging extortion by the officers.

The allegation of extortion against the officers has been referred to the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSP) for investigation.

All the suspects in the reported attack on the patrol team, who had been arrested, have been put before court and have been remanded in custody. Efforts are continuing to get the remaining suspects arrested.

Below is police statement

It took residents and firefighters from the Ghana National Fire Service(GNFS) some hours to douse the fire which occurred on Monday.

The fire razed down the shed that housed the ovens, causing considerable damage to properties.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Nzema-East, Madam Dorcas Amoah who visited the scene to commiserate with the victims, she said huge sums of revenue were lost as a result of the fire outbreak.

Madam Dorcas advised the affected victims and other residents in the area to be careful and vigilant when smoking their fish.

She, however, pledged to help them with a new shed to enable them to start their businesses again.

The Municipal NADMO Coordinator, Ernest Amoah was present to access the damage caused.

The GNFS could however not immediately establish the cause of the fire and said investigations would be conducted soon.

However, 25 of the marine mammals that were found dead in the communities have been buried.

Officials said an estimated 120 dolphins were washed ashore alive, but they were weak and unable to swim back to their habitat.

Some people picked 29 of the sea mammals to the communities but a search found all of them dead.

Consequently, 25 of the carcasses were buried, while four were taken to the University of Cape Coast for examination.

The rest of the dolphins, according to the team, could not be accounted for.

Besides, the heads, tails and pieces of dismembered parts of nine dolphins were picked along the shores of Axim- Bewire, with the suspicion being that the other parts had found their way into the communities.

Based on that, officials had to stay late into the night last Sunday, with the view to picking up any person who would, under the cover of darkness, go to process the mammals either for consumption or sale.

The acting Western Regional Director of Fisheries, Mr Arafat Alhassan, said for now, they had buried what they were able to retrieve from the community.

A team of experts from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Fisheries Commission has released 38 of the dolphins that were washed ashore at Axim-Bewire last Friday back into the sea.

However, 25 of the marine mammals that were found dead in the communities have been buried.

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Officials said an estimated 120 dolphins were washed ashore alive, but they were weak and unable to swim back to their habitat.

Some people picked 29 of the sea mammals to the communities but a search found all of them dead.

Consequently, 25 of the carcasses were buried, while four were taken to the University of Cape Coast for examination.

Apart from the dolphins, large numbers of other fish species were also washed up on beaches in Accra, necessitating investigations by the authorities.

Experts noticed that there were10 species of small dead pelagic and demersal fishes at Osu.

Officials of the FDA, the Marine Police Unit of the Ghana Police Service and the Fisheries Commission had appealed to coastal communities in the Nzema East area to volunteer information on the whereabouts of the remaining mammals.

Protected species

Mr Alhassan said the Fisheries Commission and other members of the team from sister agencies faced fierce resistance from community members in the team’s quest to take over the marine animals.

He said the police intercepted some of the dolphins loaded onto a truck.

“We found out that some were alive and we released them, but the people caught them back and tied them to canoes but they died the next day,” he said.

Mr Alhassan said dolphins in the country’s waters were one of the highly protected marine mammals and his outfit had, on many occasions, educated fishermen and coastal communities on the need to protect the mammals.

“We are surprised that they saw the animals and subjected them to such troubles. From time to time, there are accidental catches, but not to take custody of such volumes ashore, ”he stated.

The Western Regional Director of the EPA, Mr George K. Diawuoh, said the office was in touch with the security agencies to help in the retrieval of the rest of the mammals from the communities.

He urged members of the communities to ensure that they helped the institutions of state to ensure that the right things were done in the interest of the people..

Minister appeals

Meanwhile, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mrs Mavis Hawa Koomson, has appealed to individuals who have consumed some of the fishes that were washed ashore to avail themselves to be placed under medical surveillance.

She said it was important for an examination to be conducted to establish the wholesomeness or otherwise of the fishes before the public consumed them.

The minister made the appeal at a stakeholders’ durbar at Osu Anorho in Accra Tuesday.

It was to enable the inter-sectoral committee tasked to investigate the phenomenon to interact with fisher folk and seek their opinion on the matter.

At the durbar, which was also attended by the Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Mrs Koomson noted that even though occasionally some quantity of fishes had been washed ashore, the volume and magnitude of what happened over the weekend raised issues of concern.

She asked fisher folk at Osu in the Klotey Korle municipality in the Greater Accra Region to cooperate with the authorities in ongoing investigations to ascertain the reasons behind the death of the fishes.

I’ve eaten fish

A woman, Madam Abigail Nortey, said at the durbar that she had already eaten some of the fishes and did not believe it was unwholesome.

However, she said due to the call by the minister, she was going to hold on with consumption of what was left in her custody until the report was made public.

Examination

Mrs Koomson told the gathering at Osu that samples of the fishes had been taken to the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to be examined and the findings would be made public soon.

“It is important that we remain one another’s keeper and ensure that our health is of paramount concern to all,” she said.

For her part, the Chief Executive Officer of the FDA, Mrs Mimi Delese Darko, said her outfit had commenced investigations into the circumstances that led to that large number of fishes been washed ashore dead.

She said the state in which the fishes were found at the beaches made them unwholesome for consumption, adding: “Even if our investigations prove that they died through natural causes, it is important for us to note that how they were found at the beaches will not make them right for consumption.”

Apart from the dolphins, large numbers of other fish species were also washed up on beaches in Accra, necessitating investigations by the authorities.

Experts noticed that there were10 species of small dead pelagic and demersal fishes at Osu.

Officials of the FDA, the Marine Police Unit of the Ghana Police Service and the Fisheries Commission had appealed to coastal communities in the Nzema East area to volunteer information on the whereabouts of the remaining mammals.

Protected species

Mr Alhassan said the Fisheries Commission and other members of the team from sister agencies faced fierce resistance from community members in the team’s quest to take over the marine animals.

He said the police intercepted some of the dolphins loaded onto a truck.

“We found out that some were alive and we released them, but the people caught them back and tied them to canoes but they died the next day,” he said.

Mr Alhassan said dolphins in the country’s waters were one of the highly protected marine mammals and his outfit had, on many occasions, educated fishermen and coastal communities on the need to protect the mammals.

“We are surprised that they saw the animals and subjected them to such troubles. From time to time, there are accidental catches, but not to take custody of such volumes ashore, ”he stated.

The Western Regional Director of the EPA, Mr George K. Diawuoh, said the office was in touch with the security agencies to help in the retrieval of the rest of the mammals from the communities.

He urged members of the communities to ensure that they helped the institutions of state to ensure that the right things were done in the interest of the people.

Minister appeals

Meanwhile, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mrs Mavis Hawa Koomson, has appealed to individuals who have consumed some of the fishes that were washed ashore to avail themselves to be placed under medical surveillance.

She said it was important for an examination to be conducted to establish the wholesomeness or otherwise of the fishes before the public consumed them.

The minister made the appeal at a stakeholders’ durbar at Osu Anorho in Accra Tuesday.

It was to enable the inter-sectoral committee tasked to investigate the phenomenon to interact with fisher folk and seek their opinion on the matter.

At the durbar, which was also attended by the Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Mrs Koomson noted that even though occasionally some quantity of fishes had been washed ashore, the volume and magnitude of what happened over the weekend raised issues of concern.

She asked fisher folk at Osu in the Klotey Korle municipality in the Greater Accra Region to cooperate with the authorities in ongoing investigations to ascertain the reasons behind the death of the fishes.