The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service has begun investigation into an alleged financier of five robbery gangs arrested by the Service.
The suspect, Joseph Abrefa Ampah, 47, is said to allegedly supply members of the gangs with guns, ammunitions and other logistics to carry out their expeditions and share the booty.
Ampah, alias “Doctor,” Dada, Busia, among other pseudonyms, is the founder of Tropical Heritage, a Non-Governmental Organisation, established to assist illegal miners (galamseyers).
Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Isaac Ken Yeboah, Director General of CID, who made these known to the media on Wednesday, said Ampah had been on police wanted list since 2019 for also being involved in a number of robberies within Accra, Kumasi, in parts of the Eastern Region.
The Director General said Ampah mostly conducted his activities around mining areas, citing that in Kibi in the Eastern Region, he had been involved three different robberies on March 27, May 19 and 26, 2021, where he, together with others took bars of gold and unspecified amount of money from the victim whom they shot many times as well as took away his vehicle which was later abandoned at Akooko Junction.
COP Yeboah said the modus operandi was to allegedly attack their victims at gun point at gun point, kill victims in some instances, snatched their vehicles.
His latest expedition, COP Yeboah said, was when he allegedly attacked one Bashiru Abdulai on June 7 and robbed him of GHS550,000.00 near Accra City Hotel as well as on June 15, 2021, where he and a gang attacked and robbed the owner of a Nissan Navara pick-up at gun point under the pretext of buying it.
He said Ampah was allegedly involved in a Bullion Van attack on the Spintex Road which happened a few months ago.
In a related development, one Rashid Seidu, 25, who was arrested with two foreign pistols and some AK 47 live ammunitions, said he belonged to Abrefa’s gang.
Seidu is said to have recently attacked and murdered a mobile money vendor in Kumasi and snatched another’s vehicle in Accra.
Another suspect, Musah Kamara, 26, who was also arrested on June 25, 2021, at Kibi told the Police that he belonged to one of Abrefa’s gangs recruited for robberies.