Wa, April 19, GNA - Armed robbers on Friday ransacked the workshop of Mesers P and W Ghanem, a Wa-based contractor, and made away with five million cedis kept in a safe.

According to Superintendent George Appiah, Upper West regional crime officer, the armed robbers attacked the premises around 4 a.m. tied up the watchman and broke a safe in one of the offices where they stole the money.

Superintendent Appiah, briefing pressmen at Wa on Tuesday about events in the Wa township, said 12 people have so far been arrested in connection with the crimes but their names are being withheld for security reasons.

He said the armed robbers had earlier attacked the offices of Technaserve, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based at Wa, tied up the two watchmen and broke drawers and steel cabinets but found no money.

Angered by this they attacked the residences of four of the employees of the NGO at gun-point and succeeded in robbing them of a total of 500,000 cedis. Supt Appiah said the arrest of the armed robbers was made possible upon a tip-off.