Police and Military arrest 42 suspected criminals

Kumasi, Oct 14, GNA - A combined police and military team arrested 42 suspected criminals at the Race Course area at Bantama in the Kumasi Metropolis in a dawn swoop on Thursday.

The suspects, four women and 38 men, were picked up following complaints and information the police received that criminals had been harassing travellers at the Race Course area.

Chief Superintendent Joseph Yaw Dennis Opoku, the Ashanti Regional Crime Officer, told journalists that last week a traveller was shot dead at the Wa station at the Race Course.

He said items recovered from the suspected criminals included mobile phones, radiators and some leaves suspected to be Indian hemp. ''They will be screened and those found to be criminals will be prosecuted.''

The Regional Crime Officer expressed concern about the increasing crime wave in the metropolis and assured residents that the exercise would be sustained to rid Kumasi of criminals. He appealed to the public to co-operate and support the police in their efforts to check the crime wave by giving the police information about criminals.