Security officers escape lynching after false kidnapping alarm at Akuse

But for the timely intervention of some security operatives stationed on the Akuse Junction Kpong road in the Eastern Region, two security officers would have been beaten to death by a mob after a false kidnapping alert had been raised.

The security officers were transporting a 34-year-old suspected car thief, Eric Opata to the Kpong Police station when an alleged accomplice of his raised the alarm that the security officers were kidnapping the suspect.

The Akuse Police Commander, Superintendent Winfred Nyarko, who briefed the media on the incident, said the police had gathered intelligence that the suspect had in his possession, some vehicles believed to have been stolen.

The police then went undercover and approached the suspects under the guise of buying the vehicles.

The suspect, who subsequently led the investigators to the stolen vehicle in his possession, was immediately arrested to help the police in further investigations.

Superintendent Nyarko said that the alleged accomplice, whose name has been withheld, witnessed Opata’s arrest and quickly mobilized other people and mounted a roadblock at Okuenya on the Somanya-Akuse Junction highway.

The security officers, upon reaching the location were accosted by the gang, who accused them of kidnapping the suspect.

The officers, however, managed to escape but the gang pursued them in a taxi to a security checkpoint on the Akuse junction – Kpong road where they again attacked them amid accusations of kidnapping the suspect.

Security officers at the checkpoint, however, managed to rescue their colleagues and drove them to the Kpong Police station.

“National Security and one of my men pursued him. They met him around Somanya roundabout and he was intercepted. In the course of intercepting him, he raised alarm that the officers were kidnappers. Our officers arrested him and when they were coming to get him to the police station, they were blocked at Okwenya junction. It took them a long time to free themselves. They were nearly lynched… They were able to come out of that the proceeded to the Kpong Police station where the suspect was put behind bars.”

Superintendent Nyarko added that the accomplice who raised the false kidnapping alarm together with another member of the gang had been arrested and were cooperating in investigations.

He further revealed that two suspected stolen cars had been retrieved from the suspects.

“We had an unregistered range rover 4×4 and a Toyota Corolla. Investigation is currently ongoing. We may have some syndicate so we are doing further investigation to see if we can get other people… We were told that the has been in the business for about 7 years now,” he added.

Source: citifmonline.com