The suspects
THE Eastern Regional Police Command is holding three out of eight suspects who allegedly abducted two adults and also robbed a fetish priest at Teye-Nkwanta, near Okorase in the Akuapem North Municipality.
The abducted victims were Eric Amponsah, 34, and Enock Addo, 26, the son and a worker of the fetish priest, one Emmanuel Sarpong, aka Nana Hiamankyene.
So far, the police have been able to pick up three of the suspects including Kwadwo Asare, Fatawu Lukeman and Felix Yaw Tettey who are assisting in investigation.
The eight suspected abductors who drove a Hyundai H100 reportedly entered the house of the fetish priest on Saturday, 22nd June, 2019, at about 11:41 am with machetes, axes and other offensive weapons and attacked the victims.
Confirming the arrests, DSP Ebenezer Tetteh, PRO of the Regional Police Command, told DAILY GUIDE that when the suspects entered the house they made away with his 42 inches Nasco flat screen television set worth GH¢1,800, three sound speakers valued at GH¢1,500 and one sound power amplifier also valued at GH¢800.
According to him, the suspects also caused damage to the fetish priest’s sliding glass door, window, and two wooden doors – all valued at GH¢3,550. Besides, they took away GH¢14,000.
Abduction& Robbery
DSP Tetteh said the suspects again assaulted and ‘kidnapped’ the priest’s son, his taxi driver and took away his green and yellow coloured taxi cab with registration number ER – 418–16 before speeding off through the Nankese road.
‘’The police upon receiving the information from the wife of the fetish priest, Evelyn Sarpong, quickly circulated the information to all checkpoints to be on the lookout for the culprits,’’ he disclosed.
Ransom Demand
The Police PRO said the abductors then used the mobile phone of one of the victims (Enoch Addo) to call the fetish priest and demanded GH¢40,000 ransom before releasing them.
“The fetish priest managed to send only GH¢700 but after the kidnappers had received the money, they failed to release Enock Addo,’’ the police said.
DSP Ebenezer Tetteh explained further that the Operatives of RCID and CTU personnel at 6:30 am the next day moved to Ayisikrom bush near Nankese in the Suhum Municipality in a rescue operation and managed to retrieve the taxi cab in the forest at Ayisikrom.
‘’The police rescue team employed the assistance of the village folks within Ayisikrom and the surrounding villages during a search in the forest … and at about 3.00 pm, the search team encountered the eight kidnappers with the victims,’’ DSP Tetteh stated.
He said one of the suspects, Kwadwo Asare, sustained injuries during his arrest and he is currently on admission at the Koforidua Central Hospital.
Items Retrieved
He revealed that after the arrest, the suspects led the police to an uncompleted building on the outskirts of Ayisikrom where all the stolen items were retrieved.
The police spokesman said when the suspects were arrested they claimed they were all recruited for that ‘operation’ by a man they only named as “Igboman”, who came to Ayisikrom recently.
FROM Daniel Bampoe, Koforidua