Kumasi, July 14, GNA - Eight suspected armed robbers in the late hours of Monday, were gunned down by a group of police personnel deployed from the Ashanti Regional Police Command in a fierce fire exchange.

The eight were suspected to have been involved in a highway robbery between Bekwai and Anwia-Nkwanta The dead robbers believed to be between the ages of 23 and 30, by their facial estimation were suspected to be of Fulani extraction. Items found on them included four pistols, eleven live cartridges, three open ammunitions, six mobile phones, five torch lights and talismans with different shapes.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Patrick Timbillah, Ashanti Regional Police Commander, briefing the press in Kumasi on Tuesday, said the Police had a tip-off around 6:15pm on that day that a gang of armed robbers had blocked the road between Bekwai and Anwia-Nkwanta in the Region with cemented blocks.

He said the robbers took from passengers on board vehicles plying from Kumasi to Bekwai their monies and other valuable items. DCOP Timbillah said the Police quickly rushed to scene and upon sensing danger, the robbers opened fire to which the police responded and succeeded in killing eight out of the twelve on operation instantly, whiles the other four bolted with one police sustaining injury. He said, the police was however, treated and discharged at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) and he is now on duty. DCOP Timbillah added that, the bodies had since been deposited at the Kumasi Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) mortuary whiles the Police investigations continued.

The Police Commander has therefore appealed to the general public to furnish them with vital information about criminals to help them clamp down on such activities since combating crime is a shared responsibility.