Crime & Punishment of Friday, 3 October 2014

Source: GNA

Police act to stop highway robbery

Two police posts built at both ends of the three-kilometre Nnadieso-Pra River Junction stretch of the Kumasi-Accra highway, to fight rampant robbery attacks on travellers on has been inaugurated.

It comes on the heels of a publication by Ghana News Agency’s (GNA) on how robbers were exploiting the lack of mobile phone services in the area to rob.

The last raid happened on May 20, and that claimed the life of a truck driver.

The construction of the police posts, according to the Ashanti Regional Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Kofi Boakye, is meant to ensure strong police presence to ward off the miscreants.

The GNA visited the area as part of the STAR-Ghana’s sponsored media auditing and tracking of development projects, which is an initiative launched to put the spotlight on how government’s resources are helping to transform the lives of the people.

The goal is to aid transparency, promote accountability and good local governance.

DCOP Boakye pledged the determination of the police to go the extra mile to fight violent crime to assure the people of their safety.

He said the police are working hard to make the roads safe and ensure that they no longer hold any attraction to those who have decided to live outside the law.

He praised VIP Jeon Transport Company for funding the construction of both structures.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Samuel Sandow Latebu, Asante-Akim South District Commander, said there would now be a 24-hour police presence in the area.

Meanwhile, Scancom Ghana Limited, operators of Tigo, has erected a mast at Nnadieso to correct the technical hitches that made it impossible for mobile phone users to receive network services on entering that zone.