Government has justified the arrest of four Indian businessmen and two of their Ghanaian workers in Kumasi, stating the six were picked up in connection with an illegal gold deal.

Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, told journalists in Kumasi Friday that the National Security operatives who conducted the search and arrest operation acted within the law as the necessary court permits were secured.

“Those arrests are as a result of national security operation which was conducted pursuant to court permits that were sought for that purpose. It’s in connection with some illegal gold-related transactions that these persons are suspected to have been involved in,” he said.

The Wednesday dawn operation at Ahodwo saw the National Security operatives seize laptop computers, phones and bags containing an unspecified amount of money.

A CCTV camera recording unit and a wifi unit for the Indians were also said to have been seized.

Two cars were also taken away by the operatives and driven to Accra together with the six.

Janet Aakour, wife of one of the persons arrested, told 3news.com Thursday that she was struggling to locate the whereabouts of her husband and lodged a complaint with the Ashanti Regional Police Command.

Suspects released without charge

But six suspects were on Thursday night released without any charges, one of them, Charles Osei told TV’s Komla Klutse Friday.

According to him, they were neither charged nor told the crime for which they were being arrested for.

The National Security officials, he said, promised to release their phones and the vehicles seized to them on Friday.

Operation not kidnapping – Government

Meanwhile, the Information Minister said Friday that the six suspects will be “put before court at the right time” and declined to give further details.

He said “It’s not a kidnapping… these people are not missing” as some sought to suggest when the issue of their whereabouts were unknown.