Policemen grabbed for extortion

Three police Constables and a Prisons Officer in Kumasi, who use taxi cabs to rob and extort monies from innocent victims, have been nabbed by the police. The suspects, whose modus operandi was the first of its kind in the city, indeed dented the image of their respective institutions, and were charged with stealing and extortion, and they would be processed for court soon. The three constables, two of whom belonged to the Police Band in Kumasi, were Enoch A. Ameyaw, Samwina Mornah and Daniel Dufuor, who was stationed at Sandema. The Prisons Officer, stationed at the Kumasi Central Prisons, was also identified as Theophilus Koney. They usually operated in areas where suspected prostitutes, Indian hemp smokers and video games and snooker operators worked, Chief Inspector Mohammed Yussif Tanko of the Ashanti Regional Police Public Relations Affairs Department told newsmen. He said upon arrival, the suspects usually fired gunshots to scare the people, arrest them, and extort monies from them, after which they would let them go. A special Police Task Force, upon a tip-off arrested them at Daaban, a surburb of Kumasi on Tuesday evening around 8:00pm where they were harassing their victims with their illegal activities. Items such as dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp which the police believed they took from one of their victims, video game accessories and other items, were found on them. Upon interrogation, the suspects confessed to having committed the crime, Chief Inspector Tanko noted, adding, police investigations into the case was already ongoing. Seven persons, comprising four males and three females who had fallen prey to the heinous activities of the suspects, testified against them to the police, he said, adding that they operated at places like Daaban, Ridge and Amakom. A Hyundai taxi cab registered AW 858 Q and an Opel Astra with registration number GR 9972 Y which they used for their operation, was also impounded by the police. Drivers of the taxi cabs, namely Michael Gyamfi and Ohemeng Frederick, managed to escape but they were brought to the police station by their respective car owners the following day to assist in investigations. Chief Inspector Tanko said during interrogation, Ohemeng confessed that this was the second time he was driving the suspects to carry out the operation, whilst Gyamfi noted it was his first time. Giving full details about what led to the apprehension of the suspects, he said his outfit had of late received information about some policemen who were harassing people in the evening. The police Capo said these policemen, according to reports, extorted monies, taking away mobile phones and other valuables of innocent and hapless residents of the city and speeding off in taxi cabs. He said the Regional Police Command, upon learning about the development, set up a Task Force to investigate the matter to bring such people to book. On Tuesday morning, he said, the police received a complaint from a man whose wife operates snooker game and sells other petty items in a store at Daaban. According to him, the man said on Monday evening, three police officers visited their vicinity in a taxi cab, fired gunshots to scare the people, accosted them and made away with their cash of GH¢250, mobile phone and other valuables. On the same Tuesday evening, Chief Inspector Tanko noted that his outfit received information that the suspects visited Daaban again and were harassing the people. The Police Task Force therefore quickly moved in to apprehend the three police officers and the prisons officer. Chief Inspector Tanko assured the public that the Police Administration would not allow any unscrupulous officer to commit acts that would taint the hard won reputation of the force. He cautioned that any police officer who would be caught flouting the law of the state and that of the police force would be made to face the full rigors of the law. Chief Inspector Tanko explained that the police had internal mechanisms to smoke out unscrupulous elements who manage to outwit the rigorous checks during recruitment. Source: Daily Guide