Two suspected members of a criminal gang believed to be behind a series of robberies in the Ashanti Region have been shot dead during a police operation at Offinso.

The incident occurred following an intelligence-led raid by security personnel on Tuesday.

According to a police incident report circulating online, the operation was mounted after intelligence suggested that one of the suspects, identified as Osman Majid Abdul Sadik, also known as Cross, who was wanted for multiple robberies and murders in the Mankranso area, was hiding in Offinso in the Ashanti North Region.

Read also: Police arrest four suspected robbers, kill one in separate operation in Ashanti region

The Ashanti South Regional Police Command reportedly identified three hideouts and deployed a team using four operational vehicles. During the operation at Offinso Anyankaso, the suspects allegedly opened fire on the police.

Officers returned fire, injuring two of the men, who were later pronounced dead upon arrival at the Bekwai Municipal Hospital. Their remains have since been deposited at the hospital morgue for autopsy.

Items retrieved from the scene included a pump-action gun loaded with six rounds, a Smith & Wesson pistol, 50 rounds of 9mm ammunition, an unmarked pistol, and two spent cartridges.

Police also found mobile phones, a laptop, body armour, talismans, GHS 2,680 in cash, and a Ghana Card bearing the name of Osman Majid Abdul Sadik.

The deceased suspects, identified as Abdul Sadik (Cross), aged 25, and Abdulai Sadik, aged 20, were said to have confessed to a series of armed robberies in the Manso enclave.

According to the police report, Cross admitted to taking part in several robberies and the killing of three people at Mankranso. He also mentioned other accomplices — identified as Kingkong, Roy, Fii, Raph, Koboo, Ali, and Ike — and disclosed that some of the gang’s weapons were being kept at a mining site in Manso.

Police have launched further investigations to apprehend the remaining suspects and recover any additional firearms linked to the gang’s operations.