Five suspected armed robbers believed to be part of a gang of robbers terrorising small-scale mining sites in and around Jacobu and Manso Nkwanta have been arrested.
Four sets of military uniforms and a pump action gun with eight live cartridges were retrieved from them at Antoakrom in the Amansie West District of the Ashanti Region.
They are Ibrahim Tanko alias Joseph Nyfam, 23; Kwabena Awusu alias Kwabena Ibrahim, 24; Ernest Kwabena Oware alias Adogo, 19; Ansbert Yaw Amoah alias Labista, 25 and a driver, Justice Botchway, 28.
Police briefing
Briefing the press in Kumasi yesterday, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr Nathan Kofi Boakye, said on October 7, 2015, the police had information that a group of armed robbers were on their way to the area to rob some mining sites.
He said the five, who were on board an Opel Astra taxi with registration number AS 1908-13, were
apprehended at Mem Junction near Manso Nkwanta.
According to Mr Boakye, when their vehicle was searched, the police found a pump action gun with eight live rounds of BB cartridges in a fertiliser sack concealed under the rear bumper of the car.
He said a further search also revealed four sets of military uniforms also concealed in a big speaker in the trunk of the taxi, a pair of military boots and eight mobile phones, which were seized from them.
Help in investigation
Mr Boakye appealed to residents in the surrounding communities who had suffered any robbery attacks to report to the police and assist them in their investigations.
The suspects, he said, were currently in police custody and would be put before court soon.
