Armed Robbery in Accra Under Control -Police Commander

The Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, Dr Kofi Kesse Manfo, said on Thursday that armed robbery in Accra was under control since the police had stepped up foot and mobile day and night patrols.

Briefing the media in Accra, Dr Maafo said 19 robbery cases were reported to the police in October while four cases had so far been recorded for November. He said the trend now was car snatching and that at least five cases had been reported since October 1 most of which involved taxi cabs.

"What these robbers do is to snatch these vehicles, rob the drivers of their earnings, remove the car tapes and other valuable items in the car and later abandon the vehicles immediately or after they have been used for robbery".

Dr Manfo said on November 2 one Gideon Dorsu, 20, stole a taxi cab at Fadama and together with three other accomplices they robbed a lady of her bag containing 320,000 cedis.

In another incident two Nigerians, Mmaduko Mwali, 24, and Eze Obi 30 and a Ghanaian John Andoh, 41, boarded a bus on November 3 and at gunpoint robbed the driver Kwaku Afum of 90,000 cedis at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

Dr Manfo said a joint police and military team arrested them and found two fully loaded pistols and five rounds of spare ammunition found on them.

Dr Manfo advised drivers to be circumspect about passengers they pick and avoid attractive fares. They should also be careful about passengers who ask to be taken to dark areas and at odd hours.

He said serious fraud cases were still common and appealed to the public to be cautious in their daily transactions. Dr Manfo said on October 27 two Indian men were defrauded of 354 million cedis under the pretext of changing it into 50,000 US dollars.

The suspect Adika has been arrested and remanded. On September 22 one Robert Ayeh, 22, was arrested for withdrawing 78.5 million cedis fraudulently with a Sika Card.

Dr Manfo said the threat posed by HIV/AIDS required the control of prostitution. Therefore, the police have embarked on an operation to rid the metropolis of prostitutes and those who solicited for immoral purposes.

Brothels, hotels and secluded areas have been swooped and a number of culprits have been arrested and charged. He said the police have begun an operation on traffic offences and so far 116 drivers have been arrested and charged.

Dr. Manfo said one Charles Rogers Oppong, a known "visa contractor" who police attempted to arrest, escaped. He said upon a tip off the police sent an agent who told Oppong he wanted a visa and he charged the agent 1,500 dollars.

When the money was being sent to pay him he suspected police presence and took to his heels, leaving his car. A search on his car revealed four Benin, one Swaziland, two Burkinabe, one Ivorian and 33 Ghanaian passports.