The Tafo Cemetery in Kumasi, the biggest and most patronised burial ground in the metropolis, has been taken over by gangsters and drug peddlers. The hoodlums openly go about their nefarious activities, terrorising residents in the vicinity and other persons who go through the area.

The criminals, some of, whom have turned the cemetery into their bedrooms, also loot and vandalise graves in search of ornaments and human parts.

Due to the development, bereaved families no longer bury their deceased relatives with the ornaments displayed when the body is laid in state in a move to make it unattractive to the looters. The overgrown bushes at the burial ground also provide a protective cover for their criminal activities.

About a month ago, the Ashanti Regional Police stormed the cemetery and succeeded in arresting 17 suspected criminals who were going about their “normal operations.” Last year, a similar swoop by the police saw several criminals being rounded up. Also caught in the police net was a popular disk jockey of one of the radio stations in Kumasi.

It is believed that the criminals who have made the Tafo Cemetery their abode and business centre form the bulk of Al Queeda. Inkatha and the Israelite terror groups who have in recent weeks been terrorising residents of Kumasi.

People who have buried their beloved ones at the Tafo Cemetery have been compelled to make routines visits to the cemetery to check on their burial sites of their beloved as they are not sure whose grave would be looted next.