Armed Bandits, Drug Peddlers Arrested at Baatsona

A syndicate of drug dealers and armed robbers that has been on the police wanted list for three years has been busted at Baatsona in Accra.

Five of the suspects, who are suspected armed robbers, and said to be the gang behind a number of criminal activities, including rape and murder at Baatsona and its surrounding communities, were arrested at their hideouts at Lashibi.

The suspects are Kofi Anin Mohammed, 25; Mohammed Kasina, 22; Kwabena Arko, 20; Mohammed Awal, 19; and Oteng Obour Samuel, 25.

Three of the suspects have been on the police wanted list for the distribution of narcotic drugs, especially Indian hemp, to robbers for the past two years.

They are Charles Coffie, 31; Hamidu Latif, 21, and Rigina Odai, 18.

Briefing the media on Monday, the Accra Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Alex Mensah, said five of the arrests were made on October 6, 2017, while the three drug dealers were busted on October 12 this year.

Suspected robbers busted

Mr. Mensah said the five suspected armed robbers, who had terrorised residents of Baatsona and its surrounding areas for many months, had been on the police wanted list for about three years.

“Since the creation of the Baatsona Division in the latter part of 2015, armed and other forms of robbery have been the main challenges confronting the division,” he said.

Mr. Mensah said a number of the robbery operations were carried out during the night by the gang which usually used unregistered motorbikes.

Narrating how the police made the arrest, he said they managed to secure the hideout of the robbers after several attempts.

“On October 6, 2017, the Division Command raided a room at a Block Factory at Lashibi, Ramsar site, where suspects Kofi Anan Mohammed and Mohammed Kasina were arrested.”

After their arrest, the police used them to locate the hideout of the other three suspects who were arrested on October 9 this year.
Following the arrest, he said the suspects were paraded at the police station where seven victims identified them.

Suspected Drug dealers

Concerning the drug menace, Mr. Mensah said the Divisional Commander at the Baatsona Police Station, gathered that the drug peddlers supplied Indian hemp and other narcotic substances to robbers.

On October 6, this year, he said the police arrested Charles Coffie in a wooden structure at Lashibi Celebrity Hills.

“A search on him revealed one full compressed slab of dried leaves, two cut pieces of compressed slabs, 12 wrappers, and quantities of similar dried leaves tied in polythene bags and two partly smoked pieces of a similar substance suspected to be Indian hemp,” he said.

After his arrest, Mr. Mensah said Coffie declined to disclose the identity of his suppliers, but on October 9, this year, a similar swoop led to the arrest of the other two suspects.

Source: Graphic