Gang Boss Arrested

Lord King A 54-year-old suspected gang boss, King Lord Adotey Akrong, who claims to be a chief, has been smoked out of his Nungua base, suspected to be a robbery den. He was nabbed together with some 21 other suspects including seven Nigerians and two Liberians. The Nigerian suspects were Efe Osode, 25, barber, Bawa Mohammed, 22, food vendor, Otitigbe Ogheneovo, 25, unemployed, Victor Okoro, 25, student of Regional Maritime University, Jarson Marshal, 21, sales boy, Ogeh Kester, 28, unemployed, and Efe Aminugo, 30, unemployed while Ewuku Shaddrack, 25, unemployed and Imide Ogaga were the Liberians. The rest were Marie Haruna, 23, food vendor, Portia Odartey, 21, student, Hajia Seidu, 19, hair dresserapprentice, Yehowada Nartey, 27, hair dresser, Rejoice Grona, 24, employee of Classic Floral, Lartey Wilson, 30, computer technician, Emmanuel Bismark Bakokor, 25, pupil teacher, Solomon Nartey, 21, unemployed, Solomon Dzorkpe, 30, kente weaver, Kwasi Ohenmen, 28, timber merchant, and Solomon Sabutey, 33, security man. Though the police said the 54-year-old man had a wrapper of a substance suspected to be ‘wee’ in his possession, he (King Lord) told the press that he was a Nigeria been-to and well-traveled. He therefore could not engage in robbery because he was an expert in engineering services, comparable to none in the country, the suspected gang boss averred. The regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Bio Atingah, said the 22 suspects were arrested on Thursday July 16, 2009, upon a tip-off that the house was a den where robbers were recruited. Items such as 2 computers, 3 cutlasses, 7 vehicle registration plates, papers cut in the shape and sizes of currency, a smoke pipe fitted with talisman, 1 wrapper of wee and a piece of substance suspected to be gold were retrieved from the scene and were being kept at the Regional Police headquarters as exhibits. The suspects, as part of screening measures, would be paraded during an identification exercise yesterday at the Regional Headquarters. DCOP Rose Bio Atingah warned criminals to look for legal means of sustenance or risk being arrested by the security agencies who were now taking the war to miscreants. She debunked the notion that armed robbery was getting out of control in the city. The police boss said her outfit was firmly on the ground, adding that police patrols were now more intense than before. She noted that the police had also intensified snap checks with a special focus on KIA vehicles since they were the target of car snatchers. By Rocklyn Antonio