Man arrested for robbery, imposture

The police in Obuasi have arrested a man who claimed to be a self-styled military officer following an attempted robbery.

Eric Opoku, 27, who claimed to be a military officer based in Tamale but on special duty in Bawku, and his accomplices were said to be moving from site to site within the Obuasi Municipality extorting money and gold dust from small-scale miners.

Opoku, who claimed to be a Lance Corporal, was arrested when he and his accomplices went to Kwabenakwa Nyamesomyede, a suburb of Obuasi for another expedition. Opoku and his gang of four fired gunshots to scare away the miners

However, the miners resisted the threat, arrested him and handed him over to the police. During the arrest, he identified himself as L/Cpl Eric Opoku with the Ghana Armed Forces in Tamale.

Denounce

However, a statement issued and signed by the Director of Public Affairs Directorate of the Ghana Armed Forces, Brigadier Eric Aggrey-Quarshie, denied that he was a military officer and was never deployed to perform any mine duties.

Opoku was in police custody as of press time yesterday with the police indicating he would soon be arraigned.