The three deceased robbers
THREE HARDENED robbers were shot dead when they engaged armed policemen, who were pursuing them, in a fierce gun battle at Asuoyeboah, near the SSNIT flats in Kumasi at about 10:00 pm on Monday.
The trio was part of a five-man gang that was armed to the teeth and was preparing to rob people around Asuoyeboah. But the police, who had prior information about the wicked intent of the bandits, foiled the robbery.
The police gave the robbers, who were in a taxi, a hot chase and in the course of the pursuit, the trigger-happy robbers started to fire gunshots at their pursuers, and this left the police with no other option than to return fire.
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Dead Robbers
One of the dead robbers, identified as Bernard Ali, together with his accomplices, reportedly shot and killed an innocent taxi driver who was conveying a sick Chinese national to the hospital.
The killed robbers have also been linked with other serious robberies in the Ashanti Region, especially around the Obuasi and Jacobu areas, where their (robbers’) main targets had always been miners, including expatriates, who carried gold on them.
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Weapons
The police found two locally made pistols, a knife, two mobile phones, two empty cartridges, two cigarette lighters, two spare phone batteries, one catapult, a hood and an amount of GH¢24 on the deceased robbers.
Two of their accomplices, including the driver of the taxi, however managed to escape with a pump action gun.
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Hunt For Robbers
ACP Ampofo Duku, Deputy Ashanti Regional Police Commander, stated that the police were seriously hunting for the two escaped robbers, and appealed to the public to assist the police to nab the bandits to face the law.
According to him, on July 21, this year, the police had information that a five-member gang of robbers after a robbery operation at a location between Obuasi and Jacobu, had shot and killed a taxi driver who was conveying a sick Chinese national to the hospital.
The police capo indicated that police intelligence revealed that the suspected criminals had re-located to Kumasi where they had planned to rob occupants of a house at Asuoyeboah, near the SSNIT flats.
ACP Duku, who was addressing the media, said the police therefore laid ambush in the area and around 10pm on Monday, the robbers eventually popped up in a taxi cab but the police’s signal for the car to stop was ignored by the driver.
He said the driver sped off at top speed so the police gave the suspects a wild chase, adding that in the course of the chase, the robbers started to fire gunshots at the policemen, who also returned fire to defend themselves.
ACP Duku said at a point, the driver slowed down as if he was stopping, and three of the robbers jumped from the vehicle into a nearby bush, whilst they still fired shots at the police.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi