Crime & Punishment of Monday, 23 June 2014

Source: GNA

Donkorkrom Police arrest notorious armed robber

The Donkorkrom Police has arrested a 32 year old armed robber for his involvement in a number of murder and armed robbery cases. He is also accused of robbing passengers on a Metro-Mass Transport bus near Tease last year.

The suspect, Belko Tambaya from Niger, is a son of the Fulani Chief at Ekye Amamfrom, Alhaji Belko and had been terrorizing people in the Afram Plains, and mentioned in many armed robbery cases in the Afram Plains.

The Donkorkrom District Police commander, Police Superintendent Kwadwo Adu-Baadu disclosed this when he interacted with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) Media Auditing and Development Tracking team at Donkorkrom.

In an earlier publication about the challenges facing the Kwahu Afram Plains District, in a project sponsored by Star –Ghana, the GNA team identified armed robbery as one of the challenges hindering the economic development of the district and was therefore at the office of the District Police Commander to find measures put in place to check the situation.

The Police Commander said, the suspect and others shot three people and stole 49 cows at Kwame Boye village in the Kwahu Afram Plains South District, and that, later, the police managed to retrieved 47 of the cattle.

He said the suspect was again involved in an armed robbery attack on a trader at Tsutsuekope village and took away her GH¢ 900.00 and mobile phone at gun point. The commander said the police had a meeting with the suspect’s father and informed him about the activities of the son and urged him to produce the son for interrogation.

Superintendent Adu-Baadu said, the suspect asked his three wives to go and stay with his father at Ekye Amamfrom and went into hiding at Mathewkope village, wielding an AK 47 assault rifle but the police kept surveillance on him.

He said on June 10 this year, the police had a tip off that the suspect had been engaged as a shepherd by one Mathew at Mathewkope, and the police arrested him there. Superintendent Adu-Baadu appealed to all the passengers on the Metro Mass bus that was attacked by the suspect to come to the police and help in his identification to support the prosecution of the suspect.