Three Nigerian armed robbers who snatched a taxi cab from its driver and later used it to rob two residents of Adenta have been arrested by the Police Anti Armed Robbery Squad (AARS) in Accra.
The three men, who were neatly dressed in three-piece suits, were arrested at the Kotoka International Airport following a tip-off. They were then in possession of the Opel taxi cab with registration number ER 492 R, which they stole from the driver at Nsawam in the Eastern Region.
When they were searched, three Nigerian-made revolvers and a Makron pistol, normally used by the military, with 18 rounds of ammunition and a briefcase filled with fake documents were found on them.
They are Emeka Chidi, 25, trader and leader of the gang; Paul Okesisi, 38, driver; and Prosper Nnaji, 22. Three other suspects, whose names were given as Tunde, Osisi and Nwokacha, managed to escape.
Briefing newsmen in Accra yesterday, the second in command of the AARS, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Isaac Amponsah, said on December 14, at about 12 noon, the three robbers, smartly dressed in suits, with one of them carrying a huge briefcase, hired the taxi from the Nsawam taxi rank and asked to be taken to Adeiso.
He said on the way, the robbers pulled the pistols on the driver and managed to snatch the vehicle from him.
After losing his taxi to the robbers, the driver, David Tetteh, rushed to Peace FM radio station and reported the incident and an announcement was made, giving the description of the robbers and the registration number of the taxi cab.
DSP Amponsah said someone who heard the announcement, later spotted the robbers at the Kotoka International Airport, standing by the taxi which had then been parked at the car park and rushed to the Airport Police station where he made a report to the police.
The police quickly rushed to the Airport car park where they managed to arrest the three men and, together with the taxi cab, handed them over to the AARS of the CID Headquarters for investigations.
According to Mr Amponsah, upon interrogation, the three suspects alleged that they stole the taxi to assist them carry out other robberies they had planned in the metropolis.
Mr Amponsah said after throwing the taxi driver out of the car, they drove to Adenta where they managed to rob two persons of their bags.
He said the robbers claimed that they snatched a briefcase from a gentleman near the Adenta taxi rank at about 8 p.m. that same day. The briefcase, they said, contained ?400,000 and other documents.
From there, as they headed towards Madina, snatched another briefcase from a man which they claimed contained only documents. After sharing the money, they threw away the two briefcases.
Mr Amponsah said further investigations by the police revealed that the suspects were lodging at the Sea View Hotel at James Town, which has been closed down by the Ghana Tourist Board.
The driver of the taxi cab has since identified them as those who took the taxi from him.
Emeka, who said he arrived in the country two months ago with Prosper to trade, apologised to Ghanaians for the harm he and his gang has caused them, through robbery.
They will be put before court after investigations.
Meanwhile, the police have called on members of the public, particularly the two victims whose briefcases were snatched, to come to the AARS to assist in investigations.
