Police in the Eastern South Region of the Akwatia District have arrested six persons, including a Chinese, for possessing firearms and ammunition without authority, as part of intensified security measures ahead of the Akwatia by-election.
The suspects who were arrested at different locations during the operations on Friday and Saturday are Enoch Asiedu, 32; Lu Youyan, 58; Stephen Nkansah, 36; Peterson Joseph, 42; Bernard Kumi Ofosu, 33; and Joshua Amenuku.
The police said pump-action guns and AAA and BB cartridges were retrieved from the suspects during the arrests.
The operations followed a meeting by the police top brass with the two major political parties, the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), to discuss measures towards a violence-free process on September 2, 2025.
Boadua Livingstone
A highly placed police source told the Daily Graphic that at about 9 p.m. last Friday, police on patrol arrested Asiedu and Lu in possession of four live BB cartridges.
The source said the police team intercepted the suspects, who were driving in a Toyota Hilux pickup truck, at Boadua Livingstone at a snap checkpoint.
When the pickup truck was searched, the exhibits were retrieved, and during interrogation at the Akwatia Police Station charge office, Asiedu stated that the exhibits belonged to their boss, one Mohammed, owner of the Toyota Hilux pickup truck.
“Efforts are being made to trace suspect Mohammed for questioning. The suspects are in custody, assisting with the investigation,” the police indicated.
Road
Earlier, at about 8 a.m. on Friday, the patrol team arrested Ofosu in possession of one Adler Tulpar double-barreled pump-action gun, five AAA live cartridges, and two FTB blank cartridges.
The suspect was intercepted around Akwatia St. Dominic Hospital, where his vehicle was searched, and the exhibits were found.
“The suspect was interrogated, and he admitted ownership of the exhibits and produced licence number 14/1179006, marked AAAJ/1990/2025-Adler Tulpar 24SA-12262, dated 30/01/2025, for the firearm.”
“The suspect is in custody, assisting with investigation. The case is under investigation,” a police report said.
Y-Junction
Again, during the night of Friday, at about 11:30 p.m., a patrol team on snap check duty at Akwatia Y-Junction arrested suspect Amenuku with 15 live BB cartridges in a pack.
“The suspect was escorted to his house at Akwatia, and when a search was conducted in his room, one Adler Tulpar pump-action gun and five BB live cartridges were retrieved,” the source said.
The suspect, however, produced the licence covering the gun. The case is under investigation, the police said.
Staff village
At about 2 p.m. last Saturday, a police team on snap check duty point at Staff Village Boadua arrested and brought to the Akwatia Police Station suspect Stephen Nkansah, 36, in possession of one Pardus pump action gun, one Hulglu Atroe pump action gun, and another pump action gun.
While on duty at the said snap checkpoint, the police intercepted a Toyota Tundra pickup truck with registration no. WR 5535-13 from the Asamankese direction towards Boadua, which had five mourners on board.
A search conducted in the Tundra pickup truck led to the identification of the three pump-action guns.
Suspect Nkansah, who claimed ownership of two of the pump-action guns, said they were going to a funeral at Akim Takyiman, adding that the third pump-action gun belonged to his chief.
Police detained Nkansah to assist in the investigation.
check point
Also on Saturday, the Police Patrol team at Boadua Livingstone Junction snap checkpoint arrested Joseph and retrieved from him an Adler Tulpar pump-action gun and 46 AAA and BB cartridges in packs.
The police said the suspect was arrested when his car was searched, and the pump-action gun was found and retrieved.
During interrogation, Joseph stated that the gun belonged to him.
“He subsequently produced a licence with file No. EPK/2381/2025 dated 21/03/2025, covering the gun.
The case is under investigation,” police said.
Background
The Electoral Commission is gearing up to conduct the by-election for the Akwatia Constituency on Tuesday, September 2, this year.
The by-election has become necessary following the demise of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP’s) Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency, Ernest Yaw Kumi. He passed away after being a legislator for only six months.
The late Kumi had defeated the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for the 2024 parliamentary election, Henry Boakye Yiadom, by 19,269 votes to 17,206, a difference of 2,063 votes.
The September 2 contest is competitive, as candidates of only two political parties are contesting.
A 40-year-old licensed small-scale miner, Solomon Kwame Asumadu, aka Owusu, is contesting the parliamentary seat on the ticket of the NPP, while a legal practitioner, Bernard Bediako, is trying to reclaim the seat for the NDC.
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Source: myjoyonline.com
