Police in the Bawku Municipality in the Upper East Region have mounted roadblocks in search of ammunition being smuggled into the town. Passengers on all vehicles entering the town are searched before they are allowed to continue with their journeys. Joy FM’s Upper East Regional correspondent, Joseph Osei, reports that the police mounted roadblocks at vantage points in the municipality. He said some residents have complained about the unexpected exercise, especially the Mamprusis who claimed the search was targeted at them. But Joseph Osei says his checks established that the search was being conducted randomly. He said, mainly, those complaining have themselves not had any encounter with the police but are relying on information gathered from relatives to make their case. Speaking to Joy News, the Bawku Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Kwaku Boadu-Peprah denied reports that the police are targeting Mamprusis in conducting the searches. “We are not here to please any particular person or group of persons, we are here to ensure that law and order is maintained, so whatever we do to maintain law and order that is what we are going to do.” He said the police had information that some people were bent on smuggling ammunition into Bawku, explaining, “...and that is why we are doing this exercise”. Chief Superintendent Kwaku Boadu-Peprah said the police were tipped off last weekend but have so far not retrieved any weapon. He was however, not certain if the exercise would be extended to homes. About two months ago a similar search extension yielded the arrest of one person with an AK 47 assault rifle with 27 rounds of ammunition. Story by Isaac Essel/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana