Kwame Ato Asare Ani (left) with the other two suspectsÂ
Police in the Western Region have arrested one Kwame Ato Asare aka Kwame Ani, who is believed to be the main suspect in the March 9, 2023 attack on the Axim District Police Patrol Unit.
Kwame Ato Asare, 21, was arrested along with three others, increasing the total number of suspects arrested in connection with the crime to eight.
Williams Kwofie, 17, Richard Kwesi, and Emmanuel Kojo Bronie, 17, are the three other suspects, who were on the police radar but went into hiding following the incident.
According to a police source, the suspects were apprehended on April 21, 2023, in a village near Enchi in the Western North Region.
While in hiding, Kwame Ato Asare made extortion charges against the Axim District Police Commander, the Crime Officer, and other police personnel in the district in multiple media interviews, which are being probed by the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB).
The source said Ato Asare is expected to help with the investigation into the charges, and any police officer found guilty will be sanctioned in accordance with the country’s laws.
Before his arrest, suspect Ato Asare had claimed he had fortified himself spiritually against any police arrest.
He was seen in a viral video accosting a police officer and accusing him of attempting to arrest him after he had given him money.
He claimed the police engaged him to periodically lead them to galamsey sites to extort money from the illegal miners, adding that the police wanted to arrest him because he took GH¢100,000 from various galamsey sites and failed to hand it over to them.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi