Kumasi, May 27, GNA - The alertness of a night watchman and the swift response of the police and military patrol team foiled the burglary of the KAMA Forex Bureau, KAMA Health Services and a chain of adjoining shops at the Adum central business area of Kumasi by a 22-year-old suspected criminal at dawn on Thursday. Seidu Yakubu, the suspect, had broken into the bureau and shops through the ceiling after expertly removing part of the roofing sheets. Narrating the story to the Ghana News Agency, Mr Gilbert Awuni, the watchman, said he heard an unusual noise coming from the bureau at about 2.30am.

He said a porridge seller and her husband who were at the time busily preparing the food nearby were also attracted by the noise.

"We at this point became curious and after careful observation, we spotted someone entering through an opening in the roofing. I therefore asked the woman and her husband to quickly inform a policeman on guard duty at the Agricultural Development Bank some few metres away, as I stayed behind to closely monitor the situation". Mr Awuni said moments later, two armed policemen and a soldier arrived on the scene.

He said the suspect, who might have wrongly assumed that there was nobody around the vicinity in view of the quietness at the time, attempted to escape with his booty through the very opening he had used but on seeing the policemen and the soldier quickly went back. The security personnel, suspecting that, there could be other accomplices, possibly armed, called in reinforcement who immediately cordoned off the area, blocked all access roads and began a massive security operation under the command of deputy Police Superintendent (DSP) Isaac Kwasi Buabeng.

Carpenters were brought in from Anloga, a suburb of Kumasi to remove some roofing sheets over the bureau and shops, while the police threw flashlights and tear gas canisters into the ceiling to smoke out the suspected criminals.

The operation, which continued until about 7.30am attracted a huge crowd who watched admiringly as the heavily armed policemen and soldiers turned on the heat.

Mr Awuni said the suspect who had been effectively trapped was forced out of his hiding and was quickly arrested amidst cheers and jubilation from the crowd.

They retrieved three video decks and wax prints Yakubu had hidden in the ceiling.

A highly placed police source confirmed the story and said they have started an investigation into the case.