A joint military and police team from Ghana and Togo has arrested over 170 suspected criminals after a swoop along the Ghana-Togo border and selected areas.
A statement sighted by citinewsroom.com, and signed by the National Security Minister, Albert Kan-Dapaah stated that the exercise by the joint security operation code-named Koudanlgou III “is aimed at preventing terrorist activities, illegal resource extraction, drug trafficking, dealing in illicit arms, smuggling, among other transnational crimes.”
The statement noted that the exercise which was based on previous agreements under the ‘Accra Initiative’, is a follow up to similar exercises named Koudanlgou I and II.
The statement further stated that the arrested suspects possessed illegal weapons, including locally-manufactured and foreign single/double-barrelled guns totaling 108 “without any valid document covering them, unlawful activities in the national forest reserves, fuel smuggling among others”.
“Others, too, have not had their authorisation renewed for years, while some illegal miners including foreigners were also arrested at ‘Dollar Power’ near Bole,” he added.
The Ongoing Intelligence-led Operation is currently covering areas along the borders and selected points within the Northern Region, North, East Savannah and Upper East and West Regions.
It is led by the Ministry of National Security and supported by the Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana Police Service, Customs Division of the GRA, the Narcotics Control Board, Forestry Commission, National Fire Service and other intelligence agencies.
Ghanaians have been urged to share information with the police on criminal activities in their communities.
All the suspects have been detained for profiling, exhibits retrieved and preserved for further investigations.
Terrorism in Ghana
In May this year, the Africa Center for Security and Intelligence Studies warned of a possible terrorist attack in Ghana with targets being churches and other religious institutions.
This was after three terror attacks occurred targeting Christian worshippers in Ghana’s northern neighbour, Burkina Faso. It revived concerns about the country’s preparedness to contain similar attacks.
Following the attack, hundreds of victims of in neighbouring Burkina Faso fled to seek refuge in the Sissala East Municipal Assembly in the Upper West Region of Ghana.
