Soldier, Police Officer, Arrested for Allegedly Robbing Bank Customers

Three persons, comprising a soldier, a policeman and an unemployed man, have been arrested for allegedly attacking and robbing some customers of banks on the Spintex Road, Lapaz and other parts of Accra.

The names of the suspects have been given by the police as Corporal Bernard Tsagli, a soldier attached to the 37 Military Hospital; Corporal Isaac Amejor, a policeman attached to the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) Unit at the Police Headquarters, and Crosby Ofori, aka Fiifi, unemployed.

They are said to have been harassing their victims and taking money from them at gunpoint.

Complaints

Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Accra Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Mr George Alex Mensah, said the police had received numerous complaints from persons who had fallen victim to the operations of the soldier and his accomplices.

He said most of the victims, who were accosted after withdrawing various amounts of money from their bank accounts, claimed they were falsely arrested by some men in military and police uniforms on allegations that they (the victims) had obtained their money through fraud.

Mr Mensah said one of the victims had reported to the police that four military men in uniform who were using a taxi had dragged her from a public commercial vehicle, claiming they were arresting her for cashing money she had obtained through cybercrime from a bank.

He added that the suspected robbers allegedly collected GH¢4,000 from the victim at gunpoint and later abandoned her at a place.

Another victim is also said to have reported to the La-Bawaleshie Police that about 3:30 p.m. on February 2, 2018, four men in police and military uniforms aboard a taxi cab robbed him of GH¢2,265 at gunpoint.

Most of the victims said they were robbed after withdrawing money from the Mile Seven branch of the Global Access Bank, while others said they were attacked at Lapaz, the Spintex Road, Abattoir and some other parts of Accra.

Police intelligence, according to Mr Mensah, showed that the suspected robbers sometimes laid ambush near a bank to monitor their victims, trail and attack them on the road or in their homes.

He noted that the police arrested the three suspects, based on intelligence, at the Mile 7 Goil Filling Station while they were trying to take money from one of their victims.

He said the police had since commenced investigations into the matter.

Earlier arrest

This is the second time that Corporal Tsagli has been arrested in connection with a similar crime.

On May 14, 2017, he was arrested, together with a taxi driver, when he pulled over a taxi at the Nhyiraba Kojo City Night Club, near the Sakumono Community 18 Global Access Bank in Accra after he had allegedly collected GH¢1,500 from one of his victims.

During a search on the two suspects after their arrest, the police retrieved a taser and a pair of handcuffs believed to have been used to harass their victims.

Source: Graphic Online