Police arrest 9 suspected land guards after group brawl

A special operation has led to the arrest of nine suspected land guards said to be members of two opposing groups at Tuba, near Weija, in Accra.

A misunderstanding between the two groups, which degenerated into the exchange of gun shots between members of the rival camps, believed to be land guards, attracted police attention leading to the arrest of the suspects.

The police have given the names of the suspects as Cephas Afiago, aka Nii Ayiquaye, 25, Benjamin Botwe Barnes, 24, Moses Quashie, 23, Joshua Obosu, 22, Arnold Amuzu, 24, and Stanley Tegoe, aka Satriki, 42.

The rest are Noah Ashitey, 31, Boketey Simon, 41, and Ibrahim Tetteh, 40.

Briefing

Briefing journalists in Accra on Sunday [September 01, 2019], the Head of the Operations Unit of the Accra Regional Police Command, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr Kwesi Ofori, said the police retrieved weapons, a vehicle, motorbikes and other offensive weapons believed to have been used by the suspects.

Items

He said the police conducted a special taskforce operation following a tip off that some landguards were fighting among themselves and were exchanging gun shots.

The operation was conducted by personnel from the Counter Terrorism Unit, Police Combat Unit from the national headquarters of the Ghana Police Service, the Special weapons and tactics (SWAT) unit, Weija Divisional Operations Unit and Amassaman Divisional Police.

For about two hours, the suspects were said to have engaged in the shootouts.

Some of the items retrieved included a Nissan pick-up vehicle, 300 cartridges, two pump action guns, a pistol and two magazines.

The police also retrieved a video camera, two still digital cameras, a knife and machetes and slabs of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp.

Other items retrieved by the police included shovels, wheelbarrows and other items used by masons.

Mr Ofori said the police also retrieved a drone which one of the groups was using to monitor and track the movements of the police during the operation.

"The police personnel moved into the area and we were able to contain them, while they were shooting among themselves," he said.

Offensive implements

Mr Ofori said the suspects had since been handed over to the Criminal Investigations Department headquarters to be processed for court.