IGP David Asante-Apeatu
The police have commenced investigation into an allegation by a former armed robber that some top government officials supply arms and ammunition to robbers for their operations.
The reformed robber, identified as Agya Yaw Yeboah, was alleged to have said this on Kofi Television recently.
“The president has a lot of work to do. We have some top government officials who supply guns to us. We give them their share after the robbery. I have been in this for long and I know how this works. There are lawyers also who are part of the gun supply. I can say about half the guns supplied to robbers is done by some top government officials. If the government does not strengthen the fight against illicit arms and guns, many more will fall victim,” Agya Yaw is reported to have said this in Twi.
Meanwhile, a statement from the Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, DSP Sheila Kessie Abayie-Buckman, has stated that the police headquarters had monitored Agya Yaw Yeboah’s statement and commenced investigation into it.
She said the police were in the process of inviting Agya Yaw Yeboah to aid them to investigate the matter since he claims to know the people behind the supply of the arms to robbers.
According to Agya Yaw Yeboah – the armed-robber-turned-pastor – most of the guns are supplied by politicians and lawyers to the leaders of the robbery gangs.
He revealed that he joined a robbery gang for seven years before travelling to Germany where he joined another robbery group.
He said he went deep in the criminal act upon his return to Ghana before he became ‘born again.’
“I’m from a very poor home and extreme hardship led me into the criminal act. I started with 419 but a friend of mine approached me and said the 419 was not lucrative. He introduced me to robbery and I went very deep in the act. I was very fortunate not to have been caught, though some friends were gunned down,” he stated.
Yeboah also recounted how he lavishly spent all the money he got from each robbery operation within the shortest time, adding that he constantly relied on informants he called ‘runners’ for hints on potential robbery sites.
By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey