After months of investigation, two Ghana Police Service officers have been identified as the masterminds behind a series of robberies targeting bullion vans.
Robberies targeting bullion vans have been on the rise recently, notably in the Greater Accra Region.
Despite the fact that the two officers’ identities are unknown at this time, the police administration has hailed the development as a significant step forward in the fight against bullion van robberies.
According to a statement signed by the Director of Police Public Affairs, Superintendent of Police, Mr Alexander Kwaku Obeng, the Ghana Police Service had made a major breakthrough in the investigations into multiple bullion van robberies recorded in Greater Accra after several months of painstaking intelligence-led operations at the highest level.
The attack on a bullion van at Kingsway in February 2021 and in Baatsona, Spintex, in March 2021 were among the robberies investigated, according to the report.
The third robbery attack occurred in Jamestown, Adedenkpo, in June 2021, while the most recent attempted robbery occurred in February 2022 at North Kaneshie Industrial Area.
According to the report, preliminary investigations revealed the involvement of the two cops, as well as a number of other suspects.
The police stated that investigations were still ongoing and that all liable parties involved in such crimes will be brought to justice as quickly as possible.
The Ghana Police Service told the people that it will continue to work tirelessly to rid the country of criminal activities that threaten the country’s peace and security.
Background
Four bullion van attacks were reported around the country in the first half of 2021, according to the police.
The criminals fled with cash on board the vehicles in three of the incidents.
The police officers escorting the van were killed in two of the cases.
On the 18th of January, a group of roughly ten highway robbers attacked a bullion van going on the Adansi Fomena route in the Ashanti Region, making off with GH500,000.
The driver of the vehicle, GT 543-19, was unharmed, however the police officer who was escorting the van was slain, and his AK47 assault rifle was seized.
A bullion van was robbed on the Spintex Road in Baatsona near the Danpong Hospital on March 1 by a group of roughly four armed guys.
The bullion van driver and one bank official escaped, while the escorting police officer was beaten by the criminals.
The bandits forced their way into the van and made off with the money.
Two bullion van attacks occurred within three days in June.
The first occurrence occurred on June 14 in Adedenkpo, near Accra’s James Town.
A woman and a police officer who were accompanying the van were killed, while the driver of the vehicle was seriously injured and the robbers fled with the money.
The second occurred on June 17 on the Winneba-Accra route, when passengers in a bullion van with the registration number GN 6956-17 were attacked.
Unknown assailants opened fire on the van around Okyereko and Dominase on the Winneba-Accra highway.
Aside from the driver, the van was occupied by two police officers who were carrying a total of Ghc550,000.
The officers escaped the gunshots and were brought back to Accra by the Winneba Divisional Police.
When three criminals attempted to attack a bullion van in Accra’s North Kaneshie Industrial Area, the police prevented the attack.
The incident was thwarted when a neighboring police officer intervened during an attempted robbery on a bullion vehicle.
The robbers opened fire indiscriminately as they fled the scene.
Three people were injured to varying degrees and were sent to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for treatment.
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