By Nicholas Osei-Wusu
The Ashanti South Regional Police has shot and killed four persons suspected to be armed robbers on the wanted list.
One other suspect who also sustained gunshot injuries is on admission at the Bekwai Municipal Hospital with one other Member of the gang on the run and being pursued by the Police.
The four dead have been identified only as Sampson commonly known as Sammy Tuga, W.K.an ex-convict and a resident of New Edubiase, Daniel, a driver and Efo who lives at Fomena.
The Ashanti South Regional Commander, ACP Joseph Hammond Nyaaba made this known at a press briefing in Bekwai.
The suspected gang of six is believed to be involved in many different armed and highway robbery operations in parts of the Ashanti region particularly the Adansi enclave.
They have been linked to violent attacks on travellers along the Anwiankwanta-Obuasi and the Bekwai-Fomema roads.
They are also connected with robbery attacks on gold buying firms during which some foreigners including four Chinese have been injured and hospitalized and robbed of various sums of money at separate locations.
The suspects, on the 10th of this month, at about 1 am, attacked the Headquarters of the Adansi Rural Bank at Fomena where they tied up the security man, sealed his mouth with a cloth before stealing an unspecified amount of money and guns from the bank vault.
Unknown to them, the bank’s CCTV captured their operation with the footage serving as evidence.
ACP Nyaaba, explained that, the Police upon intelligence, met the suspects involved in one of their robbery expeditions at a mining site at Sanfo Aduam,in a KIA Picanto taxi cab with registration number WR 650-17 armed with guns and immediately opened fire at the Police personnel.
The Regional Commander disclosed that, the Police have been able to retrieve the service’ AK 47 gun from the suspects during one of their encounters with police personnel, seized.
One Police officer is also still receiving medical attention for the gunshot injuries sustained from an attack by the gang. Among the items retrieved from the suspects are two pump action guns, an AK 47 rifle, cartridges, two ID Cards, a hand glove, the taxi cab used in the latest robbery operation among others.
