Two suspected armed robbers have been shot dead and an alleged illegal arms supplier arrested after Ashanti Region police officers dismantled a gang believed to have been behind a string of highway robberies across four towns over several months.
The Ashanti South Regional Command carried out the operation on March 10 and 11 after receiving intelligence that a group of armed men had gathered in bush near the Obuasi-Dunkwa highway to prepare for an attack. When officers moved in, the suspects opened fire and attempted to flee. Two were fatally wounded in the exchange.
The dead were identified as David Aheto, 42, from Sogakope but residing in Asin Fosu, and Illiasu Bawa, 32, a native of Banda Nkwanta in the Savanna Region. Both were transported to the Bekwai Municipal Hospital but pronounced dead on arrival.
Officers recovered an AK-47 assault rifle loaded with 28 rounds of 7.62x39mm ammunition, a pump-action shotgun loaded with five cartridges, and additional loose rounds at the scene, bringing the total ammunition haul to 36 rounds. Police linked the two men to armed robbery incidents in Obuasi, Dunkwa, Wasa Akropong, and Asin Fosu.
The operation did not stop at the highway. Investigators traced the AK-47 to a suspect identified as Alhaji Abdalah of Asawase, Kumasi, who is alleged to have sold the rifle to the gang for GH¢45,000. Police further allege he supplied a G3 rifle and a pistol to Samuel Agyei, known as “Africa,” who is currently on remand at Wasa Akropong in a related case.
Follow-up raids on March 11 led officers to Moshie Zongo in Kumasi, where a suspect named Aminu Iddrisu, also known as “0244,” led them to a second AK-47 assault rifle and a Bruni pistol concealed in a sack inside a sheep pen. A fourth suspect, Daniel Debrah, 24, was also arrested. A search connected to his arrest led to the discovery of an unregistered red Toyota Corolla believed to be proceeds from earlier robberies.
Abdalah Alhassan, Jemini Usman, Aminu Iddrisu, and Daniel Debrah are currently in custody assisting investigations. Police say a manhunt is underway for remaining gang members still at large.
