Twenty-five suspected criminals arrested in police swoop

Techiman (B/A), Sept 6, GNA - A combined team of 51 policemen drawn for Sunyani, Berekum, Wenchi and Techiman has in a special operation rounded up 25 suspected criminals aged between 18 and 45 in the Techiman municipality.

Chief Superintendent P Y Gyinae of the Wenchi Division, Chief Superintendent Ampofo-Doku of Techiman municipality and Assistant Superintendent of Police, Godwin Cashman Blewushie, led the team. The aim of the exercise was to arrest criminals and drug peddlers in the municipality.

Briefing the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Chief Superintendent Ampofo-Doku, Techiman Municipal Police Commander said the exercise was in reaction to persistent harassment of people, especially traders and travellers, by hardened criminals at the Techiman Central Market. He said the operation was aimed at arresting such criminals and drug peddlers, who attacked their victims at odd hours and robbed them of their valuables including money and mobile phones.

The Chief Superintendent said the operation, which was started in the early hours of Saturday, took them to crime prone areas as Dwomor, the Main Market, Wa Lorry Station, New Krobo and some parts of Abanim, all in Techiman, where Indian hemp was allegedly traded.

Chief Superintendent Ampofo-Doku said after a careful screening, eight of those rounded up were found to be hardened dealers in Indian hemp, while the rest of the 17 suspects were found to be loiterers who had made the Central Market their place of abode.

Chief Superintendent Ampofo-Doku said two out of the eight in custody pending prosecution were alleged to be lunatics and had begun sprinkling human faeces on their fellow inmates and so were unconditionally released.

He assured the public that the exercise would continue until all criminals in the Region were flushed out and appealed to the public to provide the needed information on suspected criminals to the police. In another development the police at Techiman have arrested 14 motorbike riders and impounded their unregistered machines and for failing to wear defensive head-cover.

Chief Superintendent Ampofo-Doku said the owners would have to register them before they would be released to them.

He warned that riders in subsequent arrests of unregistered motorbikes would be made to face the full rigours of the law. The police chief noted that the unregistered motorbikes were normally used for criminal activities both day and night and warned that severe measures were being put in place to deal drastically with owners of motorbikes who would violate the order.