Four persons, who allegedly attacked a police patrol team from the Western Region have been arrested.
The suspects are Kojo Siah, alias Mozey, Emmanuel Mensah, alias Kofi Asamoah, Maxwel Cudjoe, and Agyabu Haruna Dissawu.
The police are on a manhunt for Kwame Ato Asare Ani, the prime suspect, who was still on the run.
These were in a statement issued and signed by the Director of Police Public Affairs, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Grace Ansah-Akrofi, and sighted by the Ghanaian Times, in Accra.
According to the statement, on March 9, the Axim Divisional Police Patrol team reported an attack on the team by a gang that seized the magazine of a service rifle together with some mobile phones belonging to the police.
It said an intelligence operation was immediately launched after the report, to arrest members of the gang.
The statement revealed that a search conducted at the residence of Ani, led to the retrieval of three pump action shot guns.
The police said “also one pump action shot gun, two machetes and eight, BB refilled cartridges were retrieved from the suspect’s unregistered Honda CRV vehicle and other items retrieved from the suspects, included two live refilled BB cartridges.”
The statement disclosed that last Saturday, while investigations were ongoing to arrest the remaining suspects, the attention of the police was drawn to a video footage in which the said police personnel, members of the Axim patrols team, were shown pleading with members of the gang while the gang was alleging extortion by the police.
The statement said the allegation of extortion against the police personnel had been referred to the Police Professional Standards Bureau for investigation.
It revealed that all suspects in the reported attack on the patrol team, who have been arrested, have been put before court and remanded in custody.
The statement said efforts were underway to arrest other suspects.
BY ANITA NYARKO-YIRENKYI
