The Ashanti South Regional Police Command has successfully disrupted a planned highway robbery operation along the Obuasi-Anwiankwanta Highway in the Ashanti Region, resulting in the deaths of three suspected armed robbers and the recovery of several weapons.
Addressing the media at a news conference, the Ashanti South Regional Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Mr. Joseph Hammond Nyaaba, revealed that an intelligence-led operation was conducted on December 24, 2025, after police received credible information about a planned robbery along the busy highway.
According to DCOP Nyaaba, the suspects, identified as Seidu Issah, Musah Yakubu, and Yahaya Munkaila, also known as Tijani, had convened in a bushy area between Anwiankwanta and the Jacobu junction in preparation for the planned attack on unsuspecting road users.
He explained that when police officers moved in to intercept the gang, they came under gunfire from the suspects and returned fire in self-defence.
The exchange resulted in the suspects being gunned down, while two accomplices managed to escape and are currently being pursued by the police.
“Arm robbers planned to come to Anwiankwanta, Dwaso road at Jacobu Junction for robbering, so we got the information and we rushed there. They were in the bush, and we fought them. In the end, three died and two ran,” he stated.
DCOP Nyaaba further mentioned that a search conducted at the scene led to the recovery of two pump-action guns loaded with ammunition, one unbranded pistol, twenty-five live cartridges, and six spent cartridges.
The suspects were rushed to Bekwai Municipal Hospital for medical attention but were pronounced dead on arrival. Their bodies have since been deposited at the hospital morgue for preservation and autopsy.
The Regional Commander disclosed that preliminary investigations indicated that the deceased suspects were members of a robbery gang believed to be responsible for several violent crimes in the Ashanti Region.
These include the Jacobu airport robbery on November 3, 2025, which resulted in the death of a security officer, multiple highway robberies along the Manso stretch, the Antoakrom robbery, the Abofour forest robbery near Offinso, and an attack at Anwiankwanta on December 8, 2025.
In a follow-up operation conducted on December 26, 2025, at a palm plantation near Manso Nkwanta, a location believed to be used by the suspects to hide their weapons, police recovered one AK-47 assault rifle, one MG3 rifle, one pump-action gun, and one single-barrel gun, along with ammunition and other personal items.
DCOP Joseph Hammond Nyaaba assured the public that strenuous efforts are underway to trace the sources of the recovered weapons and to apprehend the remaining accomplices.
He stressed the Ghana Police Service’s commitment to ensuring public safety and maintaining law and order across the Ashanti South Region.
Additionally, he appealed to the public to continue supporting the police with timely and credible information to aid ongoing security operations.
