Accra, Feb. 28, GNA - Ataa Ayi, described by the Police as the nation's most wanted criminal, was arrested on Monday, in one of the most successful operations of the Police recently.

Police Officials told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that Ataa Ayi, 32, was arrested in a house at Teshie in Accra on Monday morning as he dried his clothes. The Police said the Greater Accra Regional Commander of the Ghana Police Service, ACP Kofi Boakye was directly involved in the arrest. He is being kept at the Greater Accra Regional Police Command in Accra.

The Police said the arrest was made following tip-offs from "public spirited persons" both from inside and outside the country. Ataa Ayi, known to be a ruthless armed robber, was planning to travel to Germany, Police said.

"With the arrest of Ataa Ayi, a whole generation of armed robbers has been wiped off," the Police told GNA. The Police had been closing in on Ataa Ayi in the past few weeks as several members of his gang had either been arrested or killed.

The Tema Police arrested his second-in-command, Emmanuel Sackey Tetteh alias Mpata as he prepared to begin a robbery mission.