Some of the suspects being rounded up during the joint operation
Hundreds of soldiers and police
officers yesterday undertook a dawn operation at Budumburam in the Central
Region, specifically descending on the Liberian Refugee Camp to rid the area of
suspected criminals.
The joint operation is a
glaring response of the national security apparatus to the recent murder of two
police officers as well as the gruesome killing of a chief at Akranman recently,
and the subsequent public outcry about how the area is now a haven for
criminals of all sorts.
Four hundred (400) soldiers and
200 police officers armed in battle order were engaged in the operation which
won the applause of law-abiding residents who have been yearning for such an
operation.
There was nowhere to hide as 50
vehicles including armoured cars and security personnel directed their
attention on an assortment of criminals within the area.
Key
Result
Later, a statement from the
Police Public Affairs Directorate on the subject described the operation as “a
special exercise which is part of efforts to ensure total security in the
country.” Continuing, the statement said “the security agents are taking the
fight to the doorstep of criminals” explaining that measures such as “cordon
and search, swoops, intelligence-led operations, among others” shall be
employed.
On the achievement of the
exercise, the police stated that “a total of 141 suspects including 15 females
were rounded up during the operation and were all brought to the Police
National Headquarters for screening. Those found culpable shall be taken
through the legal process.”
The police have solicited for
vital information in what they said would be a nationwide exercise.
Pure
Excitement
An excited resident who
witnessed the operation and the success it chalked up could not hide his
sentiment as he gave plaudits to the security personnel.
“We are happy that this swoop
has taken place. The place is fraught with criminals and it is making it unsafe
to live here. If police and military do this exercise every week, we shall be
happy,” he said, adding that he was unhappy that the criminals in the area had
given law-abiding residents a negative tag.
He said the few miscreants deal
in drugs, fraud, robbery, prostitution and all sorts of criminal activities,
adding “you can’t move at night especially at dawn. You will be robbed at
gunpoint.”
Chief
Cries Out
In his reaction to the murder
of the two police officers, the Chief
of Gomoa Budumburam, Nana Kojo Essel II, recently expressed worry about the
poor state of security in the area.
The segment of the area allocated for refugees from Liberia, he said, is now a
haven for criminals.
He said it had
become a daily ritual for him to bury dead bodies with their parts lost adding
that there was a self-imposed curfew in the area at dusk because residents fear
being attacked by criminals.
“I have to bury dead bodies abandoned in the
area. Most of the corpses have missing body parts; obviously they used them for
ritual purposes.
The police are even afraid to go there because
these armed robbers, mostly Ghanaians, have taken over the camp,” he lamented.
The
Liberian Camp, he said, had outlived its usefulness and must be dismantled.
Cops Murders
Gomoa
Budumburam adjoining Kasoa, both in the Central Region, made negative headlines
when some elements in the area murdered two police MTTD officers two weeks ago.
So
gruesome were the murders that the story attracted a nationwide
attention.
As if it that was not enough,
Ghanaians woke up to the murder of a sub-chief at Gomoa Akranman, Nana Yaw
Egyir, over a land dispute. The crime scene is also in the general area of Budumburam.
Police
Probe
Soon after the murder of the two police officers and public expressions about how some law enforcement agents had compromised their office, the acting IGP instituted a probe into the allegations.
By A.R. Gomda
