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Ablekuma bullion van attack: What we know so far

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Fri, 23 Jun 2023 Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Police confirmed on Thursday, June 22, 2023; the death of one of its officers in an attack on a bullion van at a fuel station at Ablekuma Fanmilk, a suburb of the capital, Accra.

The deceased was seated in front of the white van at the time of the attack.

He succumbed to several gunshots fired at him by one of four assailants, who made away with two bags whose contents remain unknown.

The quartet launched the attack on two motorbikes in broad daylight scaring off patrons of the filling station and others close to the scene.

Here are five major things we know so far about the incident

Time of the attack

Even though reports of the incident got into the media late afternoon, the incident is said to have happened at around 1:30 pm according to eye witnesses, a claim buttressed by Star Oil statement.

The oil company confirmed thus in a statement: "Star Oil is deeply saddened to announce an armed robbery attack at our Ablekuma Fanmilk station on Thursday, June 22, 2023, at approximately 1:30 PM.

What the attackers took away

From our review of CCTV footage, the robbers made away with two bags, the contents of which remain unknown at this point.

Star Oil further confirmed in their statement that the van had just arrived to collect money when the attack was launched.

"The robbers attacked the van a few minutes after it arrived for cash collection at the station," their statement of June 22 stressed.

Officer identified by first name only

The slain officer who was retrieved from the van after the robbers had bolted has been declared dead.

Even though the terse police statement on the incident did not fully identify him, Star Oil's statement provided a single name as Amoah.

Police launch manhunt for robbers

Contrary to some social media reports that the police had arrested the robbers, their statement released hours after the incident disclosed that a manhunt was on for the killers.

"The Police are on a manhunt to arrest a gang of four robbers who attacked a bullion van at Ablekuma Fanmilk, a suburb of Accra and shot the Police escort who has unfortunately passed on," the statement read.

Eyewitnesses speak on operation

Eyewitnesses in the area told the media about how the operation unfolded stating among others that the sound of repeated gunshots had them scampering and taking cover.

That after the robbers had bolted, most people rushed to the scene where they saw the policeman slumped in the car seat.

"It was there that some of the people carried him into a car and rushed him to the hospital," one of the eyewitnesses told Metro TV news.

Read below Star Oils’ full statement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Armed Robbery attack on a Bullion Van at Star Oil Ablekuma Fanmilk Station

Accra, Ghana – June 22, 2023 – Star Oil is deeply saddened to announce an armed robbery attack at our Ablekuma Fanmilk station on Thursday, June 22, 2023, at approximately 1:30 PM. The robbers attacked the van a few minutes after it arrived for cash collection at the station.

We wish to assure all our customers and the general public that as a responsible organisation, we have adequate security systems at our stations to aid police investigations.

We also use this opportunity to admonish the general public to exercise caution in publishing unverified accounts of the incident.

We will provide further details on this incident after subsequent consultations with the Ghana Police.

We wish to express our sincere sympathies to the family of the deceased police officer and the Ghana Police Service.

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