TWO hundred suspected criminals were arrested in a special operation mounted by the military and police at dawn, at the Bantama Race course in Kumasi yesterday.

The 50 military, police and BNI men successfully carried out the exercise without firing a single shot.

Some of the suspected criminals were dragged from the drains at the race course area. Market women in the area provided information to the security team, which led to the arrest of many of the criminals who included two women.

They were later conveyed in buses provided by the Ashanti Regional branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) to the Regional Police Headquarters to undergo screening after which those who would be confirmed to be criminals would be processed for court.

Briefing the press after the exercise, Lt Col Issah Wuni of the Northern Command Headquarters in Kumasi, who led the exercise, said the race course is considered as one of the dangerous areas in the metropolis because criminals use it as their abode.

He said the exercise was intended to help flush out the suspected criminals and reduce the rate of crime in the metropolis.

He said the exercise would be carried out periodically until all criminals are flushed out.