The Ghana Police Service has announced plans to protect striking tomato importers by providing them escort services to avoid future robbery attacks.

Inspector-General of Police, James Oppong-Boanuh said they will deploy armed police officers to escort the tomato traders and transporters who travel to neighbouring countries in the sub-region to trade.

Following a strike announced by the Association last Sunday on what they call “lack of concern for the security of its members”, the police has put in place measures to ensure absolute protection for the traders.

In an interview with Citi News monitored by GhanaWeb, the Deputy Ashanti Regional Police Commander, DCOP David Agyeman Adjem, who met the traders on behalf of the Inspector-General of Police, assured them of the support of the Police and possibly military support for the escort of the tomato trucks.

“The IGP sent me through the Regional Commander to give them a message… the IGP wants me to assure them that he has already had some men deployed on that highway and that we should also give them escorts as they go on the highway.”

The National Chairman of the Association Eric Osei Tuffour welcomed the intervention and said it will meet to decide on when to call off the strike, indicating that the meeting with the police will propel them to call off the strike in the next two or three days.

“I am very happy today because the rate at which they were robbing us was very unprecedented, the escort will take off in two or three days so we’ll call off the strike action.” He said.

Meanwhile, seven of its members have been robbed and shot in less than three weeks while returning from Burkina Faso with tomatoes, two of them, however, died following the attacks forcing traders and transporters to embark on a strike over security concerns.