Thirty (30) suspected drug peddlers were arrested in a police swoop at the Tarkwa Railway area by the Western Region Drug Law Enforcement Unit (WRDLEU) of the Police Service.

After screening, 22 of them were found to be dealing in narcotics and had been arraigned before the Takoradi Circuit Court for unauthorized possession of narcotics.

They are Kofi Nti Boakye, 26, Yaw AnoKyi, 35, Usman Mohammed, 35, Kwadwo Dindomah, 27, Tieku Williams Amponsah, 34 and Baba Yahaya, 41.

Other busted persons include Prince Amoafo, 19, Regina Bosah, 21, Lambert Dena, 27, Kobena Mensah18, Charles Hamidu, 21, Eric Banful, 30, Kwame Ato, 33, Yaw Ansah, 30, Yaw Asante, 18, and Kofi Dadzie, 29.

The rest are Fuseini Usman, 30, Yakubu Imoro, 28, Ibrahim Mohammed, 25, Kofi Gand, 39 and Joseph Yakyiane, 27.

The items retrieved from them included dry leaves suspected to be Indian hemp, which the officers sent to the Police Forensic Unit in Accra for examination.

The Regional Unit Commander of the DLEU, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Anthony Dogbey, told journalists in Sekondi on Thursday that, the swoops were intended to sniff-out narcotic users and pushers in the area.

He said as a result of recent robbery incidents along Tarkwa/Bogoso/Wassa Akropong route, the Regional Police Commander, DCOP Kofi Boakye, directed the Unit to carry out swoops at Tarkwa, Bogoso, Wassa Akropong and Prestea townships resulting in the arrest.

ASP Dogbey indicated that the exercise was mostly undertaken at “ghettoes” where most criminals and drug peddlers use as a haven to plan their nefarious activities, adding that, the swoops would be sustained to make the society much safer than ever before.