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The Bono Regional Police Command has arrested eight suspected members of armed robbery syndicates after weeks of coordinated, intelligence-led operations across the Bono and Ahafo Regions. Five of the suspects have already been put before the court as investigations deepen.
In a statement issued on Monday, December 8, police said the arrests were part of an ongoing offensive against criminal gangs linked to a series of robberies and organised crime cases in the region.
The suspects, Johnson Amponsah Kwame Diawuo, 47; Shadrach Owusu, 25; Kwafo Samuel, 30; Latif Mustapha, 28; Mosby Owusu, 20; Kofi Iddrisa, 45; Kwabena Agon Azubilla Akalotey, 18; and Baba Kumi Foster, 35, were picked up at different locations during the crackdown.
One of the major breakthroughs came after a police patrol team foiled an attempted robbery on the Berekum–Drobo Road on November 18. Follow-up investigations revealed that the attack was planned by a five-member gang led by ex-convict Johnson Amponsah Kwame Diawuo. Two accomplices, Kwafo Samuel and Shadrach Owusu, later confessed and named Amponsah as the leader behind the attempted robbery and other attacks in the Nkaseim area.
Police eventually arrested Amponsah at his hideout in Nyamennae. Items including Indian hemp, motorcycle helmets and machetes were recovered and kept as evidence.
In another operation targeting a separate criminal group in Berekum, police arrested suspects Latif Mustapha, known as Star Boy, and Mosby Owusu at Domfete. Mustapha reportedly attempted to evade arrest by hiding in his ceiling but was smoked out and apprehended. A third suspect, 18-year-old Kwabena Agon Azubilla Akalotey, believed to be the original owner of a recovered pistol, was also detained.
A search of Mustapha’s room uncovered a cache of items, including military camouflage uniforms, a toy Glock pistol, live ammunition, a taser, military boots, knives, talismans, laptops, suspected laced toffees and other tools believed to be used for criminal activities. In Mosby Owusu’s room, police retrieved a Parabellum Model R-9 pistol loaded with two rounds of ammunition, allegedly sold to him by Mustapha for GH¢9,000.
Meanwhile, two more suspects — Kofi Iddrisa and Baba Kumi Foster — were arrested at Ewiakrom for receiving stolen motorcycles and tricycles trafficked into Côte d’Ivoire. Three motorcycles and a tricycle were recovered.
On December 2, suspects Amponsah, Owusu and Samuel were arraigned before the Fiapre Circuit Court on charges of conspiracy to commit robbery and attempted robbery. They were remanded by Her Worship Akua Adoma Addae and are expected back in court on December 22.
Mustapha and Mosby also appeared before Sunyani District Court B on charges of illicit trafficking and unlawful possession of firearms and military uniforms. Presiding Judge Her Worship Eric Daning remanded them to reappear on December 15. Iddrisa and Foster were granted police enquiry bail as investigations continue.
The Bono Regional Police Command says efforts are underway to arrest remaining accomplices and retrieve all illegal weapons connected to the syndicates. The public is urged to provide credible information to support the clampdown on criminal networks across the region.
