The police have arrested Bashiru Atta, suspected to be the leader of the gangsters who held residents of some suburbs of Kumasi to ransom for two days last week.

He is said to be the most wanted criminal in Kumasi. Bashiru Atta, 22, was alleged to have been arrested on Thursday at his hideout at Abeka Lapaz in Accra without any resistance.

Bashiru, alias Bash and Vandamme, allegedly fled Kumasi and sought refuge at Lapaz, in Accra suburb, when he realised that the police in Kumasi were closing in on him. This followed effective intelligence networking and collaboration between the Kumasi and Greater Accra Police Commands. He has been sent to Kumasi and is in police custody pending further investigations into his activities.

With Bashiru's arrest, the police have made a major breakthrough in their quest to bring sanity into the Kumasi metropolis. Bashiru is alleged to have organised some gangsters in the Kumasi metropolis to vandalise vehicles and loot property and money belonging to some business operators in Kumasi on Tuesday and Wednesday last week. He is also alleged to have committed a series of armed robberies and rapes in and around Kumasi as well as some murders in Accra.

He is also accused of using unlicensed motor bikes to snatch mobile phones. Investigations has also revealed that Bashiru, who claims to be an electrical engineer was the ringleader of the gangsters who smashed the windscreens of various vehicles and snatched mobile phones of residents last Tuesday, bringing business activities in parts of the metropolis to a standstill. Bashiru however fled to Accra in a bid to escape justice when he realised that the police were close on his heels.