Kofi Boakye and Richard Takyi
A 44-year-old immigration officer believed to be a member of a robbery syndicate is in the grips of the police after robbing a mining site in the Ashanti Region.
Felix Ntaah, a married man with six children, is a serving immigration officer at Baglu in the Volta Region.
He was arrested Thursday at the premises of Bonsu Mining Enterprise at Fahiakobo in the Amansie Central District of the Ashanti Region.
Felix’s arrest brings to eight the number of serving security officers arrested for robbery at various mining sites in the region in August alone.
Early this month, five soldiers and two police officers, also believed to be members of robbery syndicates operating in some parts of the country, were arrested by the Ashanti Regional Police Command.
They were identified as Lance Corporal Farouk, Lance Corporal Tommy, Private Ahmed Ride-Wan, Private Nasser Gideon and Lance Bombardier Frimpong. Their counterparts from the police were named as Constable Murtala Musah of the Buffalo Unit and G/Constable Bismark Ntow of Zongo Police Station, all in Kumasi.
In the case of the soldiers, while Lance Corporals Farouk and Tommy are with the 4BN in Kumasi, Privates Ahmed Ride-Wan and Nasser Gideon are with the Tamale Air Bourne Force, and Lance Bombardier Frimpong with the 66 Artillery Regiment in Ho.
They were arrested alongside their civilian accomplices at different mining communities in the region where they had gone to rob their victims.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday in Kumasi, DCOP Augustine Gyening, the Regional Police Commander, said the case of Felix Ntaah with service number 152617 was not different.
He said the suspect, after coming for a visit in Obuasi, mobilised people and proceeded to the mining site where they attacked and robbed their victims of GH¢300 on Thursday afternoon at gunpoint.
Whilst the suspected robbers were getting out of the mining site, information about their operation was relayed to members of the next community, who mounted a roadblock, awaiting their arrival.
They were apprehended by the youth and later handed over to the police, DCOP Gyening disclosed. Felix’s civilian accomplices, however, managed to escape.
The police commander said a search conducted on Felix revealed two locally-manufactured pistols, eight live cartridges, a knife, a pair of handcuffs and GH¢300 he took from his victims.
“He is currently in custody assisting us with investigations,” the police chief indicated and continued that the police were doing everything possible to bring other members of the group to book.
Meanwhile, the Regional Police Command has arrested two armed men who were said to have shot and wounded one of the Chinese miners of Second Page Mining Company during a robbery attack.
Kofi Boakye, 22, and Richard Takyi, 35, while in the company of four others, went to the Second Page Mining Company located at Atabrakoso near Jacobu, and robbed their victims of GH¢4,000, mobile phones.
Youg Shine, a Chinese expatriate, was shot in the rib after the suspected robbers had taken away his gold quartz valued GH¢50,000.
The victim has since been flown to China for medical treatment.
From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi
