Klagon, Dec. 19, GNA - The Tema Regional Police Command has arrested 16 suspected armed robbers at Klagon near Ashaiman, for attempting to rob a warehouse belonging to Novel Commodities Ghana Limited. Briefing the media in Tema on Friday, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Augustine Gyening, Regional Commander, said the Police had a tip-off that the suspects had come to seek assistance from the security personnel of the company to carry out the operation at the warehouse.

ACP Gyening said the security man in turn disclosed the information t= o the authorities of the Company who later reported to the Police. He said at about 8:30pm on Thursday, the gang stormed the warehouse f= ull of rice with a truck to load the commodity.

He said another truck was parked outside waiting for the first one to=

finish loading, so that it could also load.

ACP Gyening said the Police, who had then laid ambush, pounced on the=

suspects and arrested 16 of them but their leader, whose name was mention= ed as Bismarck, escaped.

The Regional Commander gave the names of the 16 suspects as Mohammed Fuseini, Mohammed Ali, Ibrahim Yussif, Issah Mohammed, Ishmael Addah, Yak= ubu Mussah, Awudu Kadri, Samuel Teye, Osman Gariba, Agyabeng Samuel, Osman Haruna, Abass Mohammed, Shaibu Mohammed, Dawuda Ali, Shaibu Issah, and Gariba Amidu adding that were all in Police custody. Mr Dan Obimpeh, Managing Director of the Company, said the 176,000 b= ags of rice in the warehouse were imported from Vietnam.

He said they started getting information from the armed robbers on Tuesday that they wanted to come and rob the place and so offered to give=

GH¢20,000 Ghana cedis to the security man.

He commended the Tema Regional Police Command for the good job done,=

and requested for the assistance of the security services, including the Police and the Military, to ensure security at the place.