Some of the suspects arrested in the GIMPA road robbery cases
Police on Saturday shot and injured one of two suspected armed robbers involved in the attack on motorists using the GIMPA-Fiesta Royale road around the Achimota Forest and robbing them of their valuables.
The police moved in quickly to pursue the suspected robbers after receiving a tip-off from a taxi driver who had been shot and robbed by the suspects at about 9.30 pm on Saturday, June 12, 2021.
Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Effia Tenge, who briefed the media on the latest arrest yesterday, said at about 9:30 pm on Saturday, a male driver informed the Achimota School District Police patrol team that he had been attacked by two armed men.
The driver, who was shot by the armed men, then led the police to the scene of the attack, and when the robbers saw the police, they fled into the nearby Achimota forest.
Poised to apprehend these culprits, the police laid ambush at an unsuspected part of the forest.
He said moments later, the two suspects emerged from the forest to resume their operations.
The Accra Police PRO said the police later saw the robbers carrying out another criminal act on the road and swiftly pursued them.
After a long chase, one of the suspects, Kofi Mensah, 30, was gunned down by the police as he tried to escape by climbing a fence.
The police were however unable to capture the second robber as he managed to escape.
The wounded suspect was later sent to the Police Hospital for treatment, where he was later discharged.
Kofi Mensah is currently in police custody aiding with investigations to find the whereabouts of the second robber.
According DSP Tenge, Kofi Mensah will be put before court today.
This is the fourth of such attacks in a week.
The Accra Regional Police Command in the past week has arrested four persons for allegedly attacking motorists and pedestrians who use the same Fiesta Royale-GIMPA stretch.
The four suspects are Richard Bekor, 43; Yaw Damoah, 34; Asante Emmanuel, 22 and Vincent Boakye also 22.
The Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Efia Tenge, confirmed the arrest to DAILY GUIDE over the weekend.
She said Richard Bekor was arrested on Friday, June 11, 2021 at 1:30pm after he smashed a motorist’s 4X4 vehicle with a stone in an attempt to attack him.
She said the other three suspects were arrested on Sunday, June 6, 2021, around 11:46am by the police motorbike patrol team.
“The team spotted the suspects on a Royal motorbike at the Achimota Forest, and upon seeing police they bolted, but the team pursued them, through the forest to the GIMPA road towards Fiesta Royale Hotel, until they were finally arrested.”
She said when a thorough search was conducted on them, some quantities of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp were found under the seat of the Royal motorbike.
“The vast and unfenced forest continues to harbour criminals who continue to attack motorists when traffic begins to pile up,” she added.
DSP Tenge said most of the street lights are not functioning so it becomes a safe haven for the criminals to perpetrate such crimes at the least opportunity.
Meanwhile, another suspected armed robber operating on the same stretch of road, George Obeng, has been sentenced to 17 years of imprisonment in hard labour. He was nabbed by the police and put before the Amasaman Circuit Court presided over by His Honour Enid Marful Sau, a Circuit Court Judge at Amasaman.
“The judge, on passing the sentence, advised the convict to go and put up a new behaviour,” she said.
By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey