Police in the Eastern Region are on a manhunt for some armed robbers who shot into a police vehicle that was transporting anti-robbery officers to various checkpoints at Ettukrom near Bunso.

The armed robbers who were reportedly getting ready to lay ambush at Ettukrom to rob unsuspecting victims on Wednesday, upon seeing the service vehicle with registration number GP 146, shot into the vehicle and immediately took to their heels after the personnel returned fire.

The police officers who pursued the robbers deep into the forest, in an attempt to arrest them, were unsuccessful due to the terrain of the thick forest.

“On 16 /08 /2021 about 10:30 pm, on Ettukrom to Bunso junction, information received indicated that some group of people with weapons attempted to rob commuters on the said road and ended up shooting into the windshield of Police Bus with service No. GP 146 from Oseim direction heading towards Bunso,” a police memo indicated.

It added that, “Communities around were engaged to report any suspicious character to the police for inevitable action. Five spent shells of AK-47 rifle and one other were found at the scene.”

A few months ago, robbers attacked tomato traders and killed one person in the process at Ettukrom in a similar fashion.

The Eastern Regional Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ebenezer Tetteh, told Citi News that police have intensified patrols with the taskforce to clamp down on activities of robbers in the region.

“[They] chanced on these persons who were attempting to block the road and rob commuters… None of our men sustained life-threatening injuries from the shots fired by the robbers. There were some minor injuries, but not from gunshots.”
DSP Ebenezer Tetteh said crime scene managers and other officers have been deployed to investigate the issue.

“Investigators from the regional police command including crime scene managers have visited the scene and investigations are ongoing.”