‘Foreigners may be behind deadly robberies’ - Security Analyst

A security analyst with the Security Warehouse Limited, Adam Bona, has observed that the style of robberies that are occurring in Ghana is a bit alien to persons who know more about organised crime.

According to him, although robberies have been occurring in the country for years, the modus operandi adopted by the criminals lately is foreign to the Ghanaian.

He has, therefore, called on the Ghana Immigration (GIS) to be up and doing in checking persons who move from neighbouring countries into Ghana.

Some of these foreigners who have overstayed their permit are jobless and may be engaging in these crimes for survival, he said.

Mr Bona said this in reaction to the recent increase in crime, including daylight robberies in some parts of the Greater Accra Region.

He told Chief Jerry Forson on Ghana Yensom on Accra 100.5FM on Friday, 2 March that: “This style of robbery in Ghana is a bit alien to the Ghanaian society, and, so, it looks more like imported.

“Anybody who knows a bit about the minds of organised crime will tell you that the style of robberies that are occurring is alien to us. Every country and the style and kind of robbery, thievery and the type of crime.

He added: “Some of the foreigners in Ghana have overstayed their permit, some of them don’t have any employment, and, so, they are engaged in these criminal activities.”

Mr Bona further urged the police to increase its visibility, especially around mobile money vendors. He noted that the sites of mobile money vendors have become potential crime areas.

“Between 2017 and 2018, there has been more than 1000 mobile money kiosks that have sprung up in this country. What it tells you is that all these areas have become potential crime areas.

“Yet between 2017 and 2018, we haven’t increased police officers on the ground.”