A gang of four armed robbers has attacked a shop at Forifori in the Afram Plains South District in the Eastern Region amidst indiscriminate gunshots.
The robbery attack took place Wednesday, December 8, 2021, at about 9:30 pm.
The robbers ordered customers caught up in the robbery to lie face down.
They struck the head of the shop owner Mr Kelepe, who is a senior prison officer at ForiFori Prison camp, with the butt of a gun and attacked a female shop attendant.
The robbers absconded with an unspecified but huge amount of money collected from the shop at gunpoint.
The shop is the largest in ForiFori Community with brisk businesses including the sale of provisions, hardware and mobile money transaction among others.
According to the Assembly Member for ForiFori, John Tsatsu, the armed robbers were masked and wearing overall blue dresses but were walking on foot.
The robbers fled before the arrival of the police. No arrest has been made yet, reports Starrfmonline.
The robbery gang is believed to be the same members who on Saturday, October 9, 2021, at about 7:30 pm gunned down a motor rider, identified as Bright during a robbery attack on a mobile money vendor at Ekye Amanfrom in the same district.
The four-member robbery gang, who wore face masks, invaded Samuel Agbozo Enterprise which is a mobile money and phone shop amidst indiscriminate firing of warning shots.
They took away monies and many mobile phones and subsequently robbed a nearby provision shop as well.
The motor rider, who was unaware of the robbery incident, attempted to ride past the robbery scene but was shot dead by the armed robbers.
The robbers, who were on foot, absconded into the bush with the booty before the arrival of the police
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Arrest of gun supplier
Wednesday’s robbery incident comes a few days after the Donkorkrom Divisional Police Command arrested a 46-year-old blacksmith, Philip Kpieladon, for his alleged involvement in the supply of firearms to armed robbers in the Afram Plains area.
The suspect was arrested at Maame Krobo upon intelligence by police
Items retrieved included three (3) foreign-made pistols, two (2) locally manufactured short guns and four short gun barrels.
Police also retrieved 3 AA cartridges, 5AA empty cartridges, and three different types of blacksmith tools.
The suspects told police during interrogation, however, that he was repairing the guns for their owners.
According to DSP Ebenezer Tetteh, the Public Relations Officer of Eastern Regional Police Command, the suspect is assisting in the investigation but will be put before court.
Kwahu Afram Plains area has been battling with the menace of highway robberies for about two decades now.
Many have died while others have sustained gunshot wounds during the robbery attacks.
Victims have also lost their monies and personal belongings.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), George Akuffo Dampare, upon assumption of office in 2021 deployed the anti-armed robbery squad to the area.
On September 22, 2021, the IGP led members of the Police Management Board to visit the area to galvanize the support of chiefs and people of the area to clamp down on the criminals.
Subsequently, a crack team of police Personnel embedded with the Intelligence team stormed the area and arrested some of the suspected armed robbers while at least two of them were shot dead.