The Ashanti South Regional Police Command has successfully foiled a planned armed robbery following intelligence that a gang of robbers had gathered in a bush along the Antoakrom–Manso Nkwanta stretch, intending to attack commuters.

According to the Police Command, acting on the intelligence received on December 31, a rapid response team was dispatched to the location, where they encountered four armed suspects.

Upon seeing the police, the suspects opened fire and attempted to flee. The police returned fire, resulting in two suspects – identified as Usmaro Mohammed and Yaw Frimpong, also known as Nana Yaw – sustaining gunshot injuries.

They were later pronounced dead on arrival at the Bekwai Municipal Hospital, while two other suspects managed to escape into the bush.

A search of the scene led to the recovery of one AK-47 rifle loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition, a pump-action gun loaded with four BB cartridges, four spent cartridges, and a black bag containing 16 live cartridges.

Authorities also impounded a Toyota VOXY vehicle believed to have been used in the suspects’ operations.

In a post shared on Facebook, the Police Command stated that the suspects are believed to have been involved in multiple robberies in Manso and Obuasi, including the Mpohor gold robbery, the Nyinahini highway robbery, and a cocoa shed robbery at Sefwi.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspects were operating with accomplices in Mankranso, Tamale, and Brekum, who are currently at large.

Investigations are ongoing to apprehend the remaining suspects and to determine the ownership of the impounded vehicle.