It has been established that one of the three suspected armed robbers paraded Friday at the Koforidua Central Police Station is a dismissed Police Officer.

Eric Agyei alias Kuma, 48, the dismissed officer and his accomplices – Samuel Appiah, a 35-year-old Wood Carver and Mutakilu Sadiq, 41, a driver – were identified by three out of the nine victims who took part in the identification exercise.

The PRO of the Eastern Regional Police Command, DSP Ebenezer Tetteh, said the exercise was successful, adding the suspects were being processed for court.

The suspects wore police and military uniforms during operations under the guise of executing legitimate security duties.

They were, however, arrested by the Taifa Police on August 22, 2018 after robbing a bank customer of Ghc7, 000.

Background

In January this year, Starr News reported that, the Eastern Regional Police Command was on a manhunt for four suspected armed robbers for robbing a carpenter in a rambo-style at Koforidua Anlo Town in broad daylight.

The armed robbers, two of whom were wearing Police and Military Uniforms, managed to abscond with a total of Ghc9, 800 and two mobile phones worth GHC410 belonging to the victim, Monya Frank

The victim, on the fateful day at about 3pm went to withdraw Ghc8,500 from the Upper Manya Krobo Rural Bank-Koforidua branch, on her return home, boarded a tricycle popularly known as “Pragea” where two female passengers joined him.

However, upon reaching new Gabson Pharmacy Branch at Anlo Town heading towards Zongo, a Hyundai Sonata Private Car carrying the four suspects crossed the Tricycle, pulled him out and handcuffed him under the guise that he was a robbery suspect and was wanted by the Police.

According to the victim, he was whisked into their Car, robbed off the Ghc8,500 he had withdrawn from the bank plus extra cash of Ghc1,300 which was in his pocket and the two mobile phones after he was assaulted and stripped naked.

He said he was later abandoned on the Koforidua-Bunso road but was assisted by a Taxi driver who transported him to lodge an official complaint at the Bunso Police station where medical forms and extract were issued to him to report the matter at Koforidua Police station under whose jurisdiction the incident occurred.

The Public Relations Officer of the Eastern Regional Police Command confirmed the incident when contacted adding that police has visited the crime scene and witnesses have confirmed seeing “uniformed security officers” struggling with the victim on the said day.

He said efforts are ongoing to arrest the suspects but appealed to the public to volunteer information to police to facilitate their arrest.