The Sakumono District Police Command has recovered GH¢140,000.00 and an AK-47 assault rifle following a robbery attack on a mobile money vendor at Lashibi, an operation that ended with one of two armed suspects shot dead at the scene.
According to police account, preliminary investigations established that the victim was attacked by two armed men on a motorbike while driving home after work with a bag containing the GH¢140,000.00 in cash. The attackers wasted little time in escalating the confrontation.
“This was a dangerous and calculated attack on an innocent citizen, but swift resistance from the victim ensured that the stolen funds did not leave the scene.”
Ghana Police Service
The Police team said the suspects allegedly fired at the victim’s vehicle, causing damage to the right rear tyre and front windscreen, before making away with the cash, an assault that left the vendor’s vehicle disabled in the immediate aftermath of the robbery.
Suspect Killed as Escape Attempt Fails
“The robbery, however, withnessed the attackers being confronted by the complaint”. Further account given by police revealed that after the suspects snatched the complainant’s bag and were attempting to flee on their motorbike, the complainant shoot at them, resulting in the death of one suspect at the scene.
The second attacker fled empty handed, abandoning the stolen bag in the process, which was subsequently recovered fully intact by police. Notably, the complainant escaped the ordeal without sustaining any injuries, despite the exchange of gunfire during the encounter.
Reacting to the outcome, police were quick to draw a lesson for the wider public, even as they acknowledged the vendor’s fortunate escape.
“We commend the courage shown in this instance, though we continue to advise the public to prioritise their safety above their property during such encounters.”
Ghana Police Service
Weapons Cache Recovered from Deceased Suspect
A search of the deceased suspect’s body yielded a significant haul of weapons and personal effects. Police team recovered an AK-47 assault rifle, two magazines containing a total of fifty five rounds of live ammunition, an additional eleven rounds of live ammunition, GH¢3,000.00 in cash, a Samsung mobile phone, and an identification card bearing the name Innocent Elemuwa Akachukwu, aged 46.
Beyond the items found on the suspect, officers also combed the crime scene itself for physical evidence, recovering five AK-47 spent shells and two pistol spent shells, findings expected to help investigators reconstruct the precise sequence of the gunfire exchange between the complainant and his attackers.
Case Escalated to Regional Command
Given the severity of the incident, the matter has since moved beyond the district level. The body of the deceased has been deposited at the Police Hospital mortuary for preservation, autopsy and identification, while the Regional Police Command has taken over investigations from the Sakumono District unit that made the initial recovery.
With one suspect now dead, police attention has turned squarely to the accomplice who managed to escape. Efforts are underway to arrest the other accomplice, though authorities have not disclosed further details on the direction the search has taken.
In its concluding remarks, the Accra Regional Police Command sought to reassure the public while appealing for continued cooperation in tracking down the remaining suspect. The Command assured residents of its commitment to combating violent crime, a message that comes amid growing concern over armed attacks targeting mobile money vendors across the capital.
“The Accra Region remains resolute in dismantling armed criminal networks operating within our jurisdiction.”
Ghana Police Service
Members of the public with information that may assist in the arrest of the fleeing suspect at large have been urged to report to the nearest Police Station, or reach the Police through the emergency numbers 18555 or 191.
A Familiar Threat to Cash-Handling Vendors
The Lashibi incident fits a troubling pattern of violent robberies aimed at mobile money operators and cash carrying individuals, a category of workers who remain especially exposed given the volume of cash they routinely handle in the course of daily business. The scale of the stolen amount involved, GH¢140,000.00, combined with the presence of a military-grade assault rifle, points to a level of planning and firepower that continues to concern law enforcement officials monitoring crime trends in the Greater Accra Region.
While the recovery of the stolen cash and the seizure of illegal weaponry mark a significant success for police, the case remains unresolved so long as one armed suspect remains free. Investigators are expected to lean heavily on the physical evidence gathered at the scene, particularly the identification documents and mobile phone recovered from the deceased suspect, as they work to trace and apprehend his accomplice.
Investigation Ongoing
With the case now firmly under Regional Command oversight, focus shifts to how quickly the fleeing suspect can be identified and captured using the trail of evidence already in their disposal the results of the pending autopsy are also expected to shed further light on the exact circumstances surrounding the suspect’s death during the shootout.
For now, police maintain that the investigation remains active and ongoing, with public cooperation viewed as central to closing out a case that has already yielded a substantial recovery of stolen funds and dangerous weaponry from the streets of Lashibi.
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