TA 47-year-old foreigner with three different passports and a Burkinabe national Identity Card (ID) has been nabbed at the Sunyani Catholic Pastoral Centre on suspicion of being a terrorist.
The suspect, Sammy Albetar, who is currently being detained by the Sunyani Municipal Police pending further investigation, initially told the police that he was a Malian but later said he was a Burkinabe after further interrogation.
Preliminary checks revealed three passports (Togolese, Beninois and Malian) on him in addition to a Burkinabe national ID card.
According to a source at the Ahafo Regional Police Headquarters, the head of Sunyani Catholic Diocese, Monsignor Kwame Kumi, alerted the police that at about 11pm on 9thJune, 2019, the head of security at Sunyani Catholic Secretariat, WO1 (Rtd) Cletus Kakraba, reported that the suspect went to the pastoral centre, claiming to be a seminarian in Kumasi and practising medical officer.
He initially told the head of security that he was a Malian, but when he was quizzed further by the police he changed his identity to a Burkinabe.
A search conducted on him revealed the different passports.
The source said the suspected terrorist told the police where he received his seminarian teachings and his mission at the place.
His failure to answer some diocesan questions raised suspicions that he might be a terrorist.
He was therefore handed over to police for further investigations.
Speaking to DAILY GUIDE, Monsignor Kwame Kumi praised the Ghana Police Service in the region for giving them security tips on how to identify suspicious characters on their premises.
He said as a result of some security tips they had been given, his men were swift in identifying the suspect.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) in the region, Chief Inspector Augustine Kinsley Oppong, confirmed the arrest of the suspect to DAILY GUIDE in an interview, but did not give further details because investigations were ongoing.
danielyaodayee@yahoo.com
From Daniel Y Dayee, Sunyani