Four persons have been arrested for possessing 63,850 cartridges in a joint operation by the Police and Bureau of National Investigations (BNI). The four are Kofi Owusu Boateng, 41; Yaw Yeboah, 40; Yaw Kwakye, 32 and Josiah Idowu Akanni, a Nigerian aged 32. They were arrested on June 25, this year at ACP Estate at Pokuase near Accra following suspicion that the cartridges were being concealed in a specially-designed compartment of a truck. The truck involved, a Volvo with Nigerian registration number XR550 AKD, was being driven by Akanni with Yaw Yeboah as his mate. The Enquirer newspaper published Wednesday that a thorough search revealed the trunk of the vehicle was sealed with a metal plate to create a false floor underneath where they had a hidden compartment. The cartridges were contained in 254 boxes with each containing 25 pieces valued at over GH¢36,000. The paper quotes its sources as saying that investigations have so far revealed that the cartridges were purchased from a licensed Arms and Ammunition dealer under a police permit purportedly issued for M/S Maloy of Accra. The sources however, said that the permit is suspected to have been faked by a middleman (name withheld), who is on the run. Preliminary investigations, thy sources said, that Kofi Owusu Boateng, a spare parts dealer is the Ghanaian collaborator of a Nigerian businessman called Alhaji Taufik Bidemi in the illegal trade. The sources said that during questioning, Akanni disclosed that Boateng was the person who assisted them to buy the cartridges. Boateng, the sources said was arrested near a spot around Kata Hostel, around Nyamekye Junction in Accra, together with his friend, Yaw Kwakye, who was lured by security operatives when he offered to pay an unspecified sum of money to influence them to get the suspects freed. Others mentioned in the trade (names withheld) are still being pursued by security officers. The sources said that Boateng, upon interrogation disclosed that he had been in the illegal trade of exporting cartridges that had been imported to Ghana from other countries under license. The sources said that although Boateng said that the current attempt was his second time in the trade, investigations reveal that it was his fourth time. The four suspects have been remanded in custody after appearing in court, charged with possessing firearms without lawful authority and will re-appear on July 20, this year. Source: The Enquirer