A man described by the police as a notorious robber and land guard who terrorises land owners, potential land owners and residents of Abokobi and its environs has been arrested.
One of his accomplices, described by the police as the paymaster or financier, has also been arrested.
Solomon Odei, 31, also known as Sulamani Dajuma or Innocent, is alleged to be behind a spate of armed robberies in the Abokobi, Ashongman, Madina and Kwabenya communities, while his accomplice, Alhaji Sariki Sani, is said to have recruited Odei to perpetrate the violent crimes.
Items retrieved
The police retrieved four pistols, one loaded with seven rounds of nine millimetre ammunition; 103 rounds of ammunition, comprising 18 rounds of 380 auto, 87 rounds of nine-millimetre luger and 65 rounds of 7.65 millimetre cartridges from Odei’s residence.
Other items retrieved were a sword, two machetes, two jack knives, seven assorted mobile phones and a quantity of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp.
The police also retrieved a Toyota Yaris vehicle, with registration number GS 9806-14, a security torch, an unregistered Suzuki motorbike, five pendrives, one computer hard drive, electrical cables, seven jackets, among others.
Intelligence
The Accra Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Mr Frederick Adu Anim, who confirmed the arrest to the Daily Graphic, said the police were working around the clock to arrest Odei’s other accomplices who were currently on the run.
He said about 12:30 p.m. on February 14, 2020, the police, acting on intelligence, arrested Odei at Abokobi Boi where he had laid ambush to attack one of his victims.
When the police carried out an on-the-spot search on Odei, they found that he had a pistol loaded with seven rounds of nine-millimetre ammunition on him.
Notorious gang
The other items, DCOP Adu Anim said, were found by the police when they searched his house, which is in the same community where he was arrested. Odei is said to be a member of a gang of notorious land thugs, popularly known as land guards.
He is also said to have been on the police wanted list at the Tesano Divisional Police for some time now for allegedly threatening a landowner at Tesano with a gun.
Attacks on victims
Odei is alleged to have attacked some of his victims while riding an unregistered motorbike and wearing a black jacket in which he conceals his weapons.
DCOP Adu Anim said upon interrogation following his arrest, Odei mentioned Alhaji Sani as his employer, the one who recruited him to engage in the robberies in the Abokobi, Ashongman, Madina and Kwabenya communities.
The commander said the police knew him as Solomon Odei, but he also responded to Sulamani Dajuma, the name on an identity card with his picture found in his room during the search.
He said, however, that among his friends, Odei was popularly known as Innocent.
DCOP Adu Anim said Alhaji Sariki Sani was arrested in his house last Saturday, but had been granted police enquiry bail due to ill health.
According to the commander, Odei had been charged for possessing firearms without lawful authority after the police had retrieved four pistols, one loaded with seven rounds of nine millimetre ammunition, from him.