The Military and the Police on Thursday arrested 55 suspected criminals in a joint "cordon and search" operation at the Christian Village, Achimota in Accra.

The suspects made up of 44 males and 11 females were arrested at their various hideouts in and around the village. Among them were Nigerians, Togolese, Sierra Leoneans, Liberians and Ghanaians.

They are currently being kept at the Police Headquarters for screening. Most of the women were arrested for trying to hide some of the suspects and for their affiliation to them.

The operation, which started at 09:00 hours formed part of "Operation Calm Life", an exercise initiated by the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to check the rising crime rate in the country.

Two television sets, a video compact disc player, 4 amplifiers, a video deck and two pairs of military boots were retrieved after a search.

The other items included blood stained gloves, syringe, fan, military uniforms, television stand, gas cooker, a large quantity of panther condoms and black papers used for printing counterfeit currency and personal effects.

The security personnel also impounded three saloon cars - a Fiat Tipo with registration number GT 6353 R and Chrysler Neon and a Mercedes Benz 190, both unregistered. The Benz had marks that suggested that the number plate had been removed.

Lieutenant Colonel John Guyiri, Commamding Officer of the Five Infantry Battalion (5BN), told the Ghana News Agency that the GAF upon a tip-off that suspected criminals of various nationalities were staying in the village decided to flush them out.

He said the joint team cordoned-off the village and searched most of the houses with the help from some residents, who were willing to assist them to identify the suspects.

Lt. Col. Guyirihe, who described the village as a hide out for criminals, said although they arrested quite a sizeable number of suspects, most of them had fled the village upon a tip-off.

The Commanding Officer said the residents, who claimed they were being intimidated by the presence of the suspects, were not willing to help the team.

"The people are apathetic although they have the ants biting them. People are so scared to corporate but yet they want their problems to be solved. Much as the security agencies are doing their best to help, the public have a much more important role to play".

Some residents, who declined to identify themselves, saying: "I fear for my life," told the GNA that most of the women arrested were prostitutes and were acquaintances of the suspects.