The Northern Regional Police Command has taken six individuals into custody for allegedly operating a fake taskforce, assaulting a resident, and extorting thousands of Ghana Cedis under the guise of an official anti-illegal drug team.
The suspects—identified as Hardi Tajudeen, 24; Lukman Iddrisu, 42; Abdul Rauf Alhassan, 36; Muntala Mohammed, 41; Somed Abdul Rahaman (alias Bikorkor), 47; and Nasiru Alhassan (alias Gbarigbari), 49—are believed to belong to a vigilante group locally known as “Faako”.
According to a police statement signed by Northern Regional Staff Officer, DSP Stephen Asiedu, the arrests followed a formal complaint lodged on Tuesday, 7th July 2026.
The complainant reported that on the night of 6th July, members of the “Faako” group raided his home, conducted an unauthorised search, and seized six sachets of Royal Fort 250mg Tramadol.
The suspects allegedly confiscated his unregistered Yamaha motorbike, valued at GH₵42,000, and stole GH₵28,000 in cash.
The victim further alleged that he was handcuffed, taken to the group’s operational base at Kandaha in Aboabo, and unlawfully detained. The suspects reportedly assaulted him and threatened to hand him over to the authentic police anti-drug unit—the “Red Maria” team—unless he paid a GH₵15,000 ransom for his motorbike.
Officers from the actual Red Maria anti-illegal drug team subsequently accompanied the victim to the Kandaha location, where they arrested the six suspects.
During the operation, the police recovered the unregistered Yamaha motorbike, the suspected tramadol exhibits, and GH₵12,273 out of the stolen cash.
The Northern Regional Police Command clarified that “Red Maria” is a strictly internal, professional operational unit that does not collaborate with any external taskforces or vigilante groups.
“The Command cautions all persons or groups falsely claiming affiliation with Red Maria or any Police unit to desist immediately. Anyone found engaging in such criminal acts will be arrested and prosecuted,” the statement warned.
The six suspects have been granted police enquiry bail while investigations continue. Meanwhile, the police are urging other members of the public who may have fallen victim to similar intimidation or extortion by these groups to report immediately to the nearest station.
