Three men have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the shipment of some 59 AK-47 assault rifles from Accra to Walewale in the North East Region.
The suspects were picked on Friday, August 30, at Nsakina near Ablekuma in the Greater Accra Region.
They are reported to be part of a highly networked syndicate that buys weapons and sends them to the North of Ghana.
Joy News’ Fred Smith reports that operations of the syndicate were uncovered by personnel from the counter-terrorism unit of the Ghana Police Service, following weeks of intelligence gathering and monitoring.
The heavily armed operations squad numbering 10, lay siege at a house in the community on Friday as some men negotiated the sale of an AK-47 assault rifle in that facility.
It is one of many which have happened there.
Director of Operations at the Accra Region Police Command, ACP Kwesi Ofori who spoke to Joy News after the operation, did not give further details about the syndicate but said, investigators were keeping an open mind and will follow all credible leads.
The counter-terrorism squad initially arrested four persons but it is currently focusing on two, who are said to be key members of a very dangerous arms smuggling syndicate.
The members of the syndicate have already bought and sent 59 AK-47 riffles to Walewale, a part of the country which has seen violent conflicts in the past leaving many dead and properties destroyed.
In June, the leader of a notorious cross-border arms smuggling syndicate arrested by the Nigerian counter-terrorism police, confessed that they obtained their supplies from Ghana and Burkina Faso, raising concerns about the extent of arms proliferation within countries in the West African sub-region.
Source: myjoyonline.com
