The Ghana Police Service has linked a suspected robbery syndicate whose planned attack on banks at Labone in Accra was foiled to at least two earlier attacks on bank customers in Tema and Achimota.

The syndicate had allegedly been under surveillance since April 2026 after police intelligence indicated that its members were monitoring customers who withdrew large sums of money from banks before following and attacking them.

Investigators said the suspects allegedly used master keys to open targeted vehicles and, in some instances, broke into them to steal cash and valuables.

Police investigations linked the group to an incident at Agbamaame in Tema Community 2 on May 17, where a woman was allegedly robbed of GH¢50,000 after withdrawing the money from a bank.

On June 11, the suspects allegedly attacked a young man at gunpoint at Achimota after he had withdrawn an unspecified amount from a bank and was travelling home.

The surveillance operation culminated on August 13 when police received information that members of the group had been spotted at a bank on Spintex Road and were heading towards Labone and Cantonments.

Investigators followed a black Hyundai Tucson, registration GS 7915-19, and an ash-coloured Toyota Highlander, registration GS 1434-18, before the vehicles were spotted around Zenith Bank, GCB Bank and Ecobank at Labone, where the suspects had allegedly positioned themselves to monitor the facilities.

Police swiftly intervened and foiled the planned attack. Two suspects were shot dead, another escaped, while 49-year-old Augustine Okechuku Maazi was arrested.

A search of the Toyota Highlander led to the recovery of a Blow F90 pistol and 13 different vehicle registration numbers.

Investigators also established that the suspects allegedly imported vehicles into Ghana and replaced their Nigerian registration plates with Ghanaian number plates to facilitate their operations.

Maazi has since been remanded in custody, while police continue investigations and pursue other members of the suspected syndicate who remain at large.