Alleged armed robbers arrested

Ho, April 16, GNA-Two alleged armed robbers, Kofa Apati, 20, a Ghanaian and Atsu Kodzovi, also 20, a Togolese were arrested early this morning after they seized a Mitsubishi L300 passenger bus with registration number GR 2026 U from one Mr Isaac Addo at gunpoint near Kpovi Police Barrier in the Ho district.

Mr Steven Andoh-Kwoffie, Volta Regional Police Commander who disclosed this to newsmen when he paraded the suspects before them at his office said the driver of the bus shuttles between Kpong and Ho. He said the alleged robbers boarded the car from Kpeve to Atimpoku and later requested him (Mr Addo) to take them to Sokode to pick some relations for a funeral.

Mr Andoh-Kwoffie said about 14 kilometres from the barrier, they ordered the driver at gun point to surrender his driving licence and also demanded all papers covering the car and his sales for the morning. He said after Mr Addo handed over his sales of 35,000 cedis to the robbers, together with his licence, the robbers ordered him to stop, pulled him out of the vehicle into a near-by bush and stripped him naked with a locally manufactured gun pointed at him.

Mr Andoh-Kwoffie said the robbers then drove the vehicle away leaving him naked in the bush.

The Police Commander said after they left, Mr Addo managed to trace his dresses, quickly dressed up and rushed to the Police at the Kpovi barrier to make a report.

He said the Police then sent radio a message to all Police Stations within the vicinity, sending Police men on the roads in search of the robbers from all directions.

Mr Andoh-Kwoffie said a Police Patrol team sighted the vehicle at Anyirawase, near Ho and gave it a chase, but the fleeing robbers drove into a kiosk, abandoned the vehicle and jumped into the bush. He said the Police pursued and arrested them in the bush. The robbers told newsmen that they reside in Togo and that they were sent by an elderly person to buy the weapons.

They said they decided to rob the driver because after having bought the gun at 250,000 cedis and four cartridges for 12,000 cedis, they were short of money and therefore attempted to rob the driver of money to enable them return to Togo.

In another development Mr Andoh-Kwoffie said the Ho Police recently arrested 31 suspected criminals between the ages of 15-40 in a night swoop around the precincts of the main Lorry Park in Ho.

Mr Andoh-Kwoffie said the Police seized parcels and rolls of dried leaves suspected to be Indian Hemp, pairs of scissors and sheets of paper in the possession of some of the suspects.

He said the Police acted on reports that some hoodlums lurked around the station, especially behind kiosks at night to smoke wee and also harass passers-by. The Regional Commander said, the Volta Hawks, the regional variant of the Special Anti Armed Robbery Squad had commenced patrols and snap checks to check such activities. Mr Steven Andoh-Kwoffie said the Police in the region were ready to take the fight against armed robbers and other criminals to their door steps.

He therefore appealed to the public to furnish the Police with information to make its work easier.