The Police have arrested Kwame Ato Asare, alias Kwame Ani, the prime suspect, together with three others, in connection with the attack on the Axim District Police patrol team on March 9, 2023.
This brings to eight, the number of suspects linked to the crime that have been arrested.
Kwame Ato Asare and the three other suspects, Williams Kwofie, Richard Kwesi and Emmanuel Kojo Bronie, who were on the Police radar, had gone into hiding following the attack on the patrol team.
They were arrested on April 21, 2023, at a village near Enchi in the Western North Region.
Kwame Ato Asare, while in hiding, made allegations of extortion against the Axim District Police Commander, the Crime Officer and other police officers in the district in several media interviews and these are currently being investigated by the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB).
Kwame and four others were seen in a viral video heckling some policemen in an attempt to snatch their weapons.
“Kwame, we beg you,” one of the policemen is heard saying while on his knees as his rifle is being taken away from him by the visibly angry men.
In a phone interview with Accra-based UTV, Kwame Ani told his side of the scuffle that ensued in the forest between his gang and the officers.
He explained that contrary to reports he rather served as a known informant for the Axim police.
Kwame says he has played this role including an occasional liaison for the police’s anti-galamsey operations in the area.
According to him, he collects monies from the galamsey operators in the area for the police in exchange for protection from criminals.
He explained that his bad blood with the police officers started when he decided to withhold payment from the officers after taking delivery of GHC100,000 from some illegal miners.
Kwame said he took this path because his crew felt cheated from a previous deal where the policemen gave them peanuts from
“The full amount they got was GHs30,000 but gave us only GHs2,000,” he said while recounting the previous development.
This, according to Kwame, is why he also decided to pay them back in their coin.
In the viral video, Kwame is heard saying that “I had showed you the site and was telling you to drop me off, but you said you were taking me away.”
“You were coming for money from the site and we have paid you. So why did you want to still keep me in the vehicle? Where were you taking me?” he quizzed.
It is for this reason that he believes the police have tagged him as a robber to court public disaffection against him and cover up what he sees as the actual narrative.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service says the allegation of extortion against the officers has been referred to the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSP) for investigation.
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