Thirty four persons suspected to be armed robbers have been arrested by the Koforidua Police in the Eastern Region, in a special operation carried out in five different locations in the Koforidua Municipality. Twenty-three of them, including four women, are said to be foreigners. They were arrested at Effiduase, Adweso, Nsukwaw, Nyamekrom and Korle Nkwanta. Briefing newsmen at the Regional Police Headquarters at Koforidua on Thursday, the Regional Police Commander, ACP George Anko-Bil said items found on them included locally manufactured pistols, eight rounds of ammunition, 17 Laptop computers, eight mobile phones, knives, a generator, an axe and wrapped substances suspected to be Indian hemp. Those involved, he said are aged between 18 and 25 years. ACP Anko-Bil said within 10 days, there had been a series of arrests in the region, disclosing that one Alex Koomson (alias Kwamena) was arrested at Akim Oda with a Revolver and eight rounds of ammunitions. He said what baffled the police was that some armed robbers, after the robbery, set fire to the victims' houses after raping the women. In one instance, he said a man's wife was raped and the man also asked to rape his own daughter. ACP Anko-Bil said the man refused, telling the robbers that he would rather prefer to die. He appealed to Ghanaians to embrace the Neighborhood Watchdog idea to fight criminals in their communities. He also urged them to support people attacked by armed robbers before the arrival of the police. ACP Anko-Bil urged the public to be security alert and be careful of people they deal with. He denied reports that the Eastern Regional Police had banned demonstrations in the region. He said the ban placed on Suhum by the Eastern Regional Security Council did not extend to the whole region. Source: Statesman