The circumstances leading to the arrest of two rogue policemen allegedly involved in the series of robberies that rocked Accra last year, is unravelling.
The lead character has been identified as a police constable who goes by the name Ofosu, and known by his colleagues as Pablo.
They are said to be a group of young policemen who appeared to have infiltrated the service to enable them to either facilitate or carry out armed robberies at the blind side of the authorities.
They are said to belong to Intake 5859 that graduated from the Accra Police Training Depot.
It was these hoodlums, led by Pablo, that staged the daylight armed robbery at Adedenkpo near Jamestown in Accra on June 14, 2021, leading to the gruesome killing of a police constable called Emmanuel Osei who was escorting a bullion van, as well as another woman called Afua Badu, who was at her shop near the robbery scene.
According to sources, the slain Constable Osei was the depot mate of Pablo and his gang.
The police hierarchy after some painstaking investigations, started arresting the suspects last Monday, and so far two policemen, are in detention.
More Information
Pablo is said to be attached to the National SWAT of the Ghana Police Service and was even put on guard duties when the imaginary Western Togoland issues came up somewhere last year.
Pablo after the unsuccessful latest operation at the North Industrial Area, escaped to Jamestown, Accra but unknown to him, he was being monitored.
He was subsequently arrested at Jamestown and the case was reported to the Police Control Room.
He initially denied being involved in any robbery, but he later allegedly confessed that he was the mastermind of the Adedenkpo robbery.
He even told the police that the slain policeman saw him during the Adedenkpo incident and even mentioned his name by remarking that “Ah! Pablo, why are you doing this?”
The suspect confessed that he had to kill his colleague because he feared the colleague would identify him later.
Pablo reportedly mentioned an Accra instructor as one of the accomplices.
An armourer in Accra has also been arrested in connection with the bullion van robberies.
Initial Statement
On Monday, the Ghana Police Service issued a statement saying two police officers were involved in the spate of bullion van robberies recorded in the Greater Accra Region in recent times.
A statement signed by Supt Alexander Kwaku Obeng, Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service had indicated that preliminary investigations, which pointed at the involvement of two police officers and other suspects, are continuing, and those identified would not be spared.
Of the bullion van attacks recorded in the Greater Accra Region, the one at Adedenkpo, Jamestown, in which a young police officer was shot dead stunned the country. The sheer bravado of the robbers, and the gruesome manner in which the policeman was killed made scary headlines last year.
Other daredevil attacks which shook Accra were the Kingsway incident of February of the same year and the Batsona (Spintex) robbery of March 2021.
Last month, the North Kaneshie Industrial Area was also shaken by a failed bullion van robbery in broad daylight.
Deadly Incident
On Monday, June 14, close to midday, some hoodlums armed with deadly weapons on motorbikes pounced on a bullion van and killed the young policeman and another woman who was standing close to the scene before ransacking the vehicle and escaping on the bikes.
The incident stunned the whole country and reignited the debate on improved security to stem the armed robbery menace.
A Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage revealed more about the deadly incident on Monday, June 14, as footages on the streets showed how the hoodlums appeared to tail the bullion van, belonging to MON-TRAN.
Six Robbers
The footages showed that six robbers using three motorbikes (two on each bike) followed the vehicle for some time before launching the attack at Adedenkpo, near Jamestown.
At 11:52 am, they were captured around the Bishop Bowers Junction at Laterbiokoshie, on the Mortuary Road, the same route the bullion van was using.
They tailed the bullion van and occasionally appeared to use other vehicles as decoy.
After about 12 noon, the van turned left at the Korle Bu Junction Traffic Light intersection across the Korle Lagoon Bridge towards Jamestown.
At a traffic stop at Adedenkpo, the bullion van stopped, and the lead motorcycle bypassed the van.
Daring Move
The two other bikes followed, and within a minute sandwiched the bullion van at a crowded spot and started firing their weapons.
They then succeeded in killing Police Constable Emmanuel Osei, together with Afua Badu.
The bullion van driver sustained injuries while two ladies at the back of the van managed to escape unhurt.
The robbers then emptied the bullion van and escaped on their bikes amid indiscriminate firing to scare onlookers.
The footages also showed people in the vicinity running helter-skelter.
A Daily Guide Report