Top police officers arrested for attempting to sell guns and ammunition illegally
- Two lance corporals are in custody for smuggling guns to civilians
- The Lance Corporals were tracked down by the CID
- Obtaining a license to wield a gun in very rigorous
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The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Police Service has arrested two of its officers plus a civilian accomplice following a secret plan to sell guns and other weapons to some investigators at Achimota.
The officers - Lance Corporals Emmanuel Abusah Yao and Sulayman Yusuf were in custody at the CID headquarters in Accra as they assisted with investigations.
Investigative reports cited by YEN.com.gh indicates the said officers where tipped over possessing guns and other weapons targeted for sale.
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The CID operatives then set off in the pretext of buying these armaments at Achimota in Accra. Upon reaching the scene, the operatives met Emmanuel Abusah Yao and Sulayman Yusuf in a moving taxi.
After dealing with the Police Officers as potential clients, the CID operatives were given a date to come for any form of gun or ammunition they wanted to buy. It was at that instance that the CID contacted the police headquarters over the matter and they subsequently mounted surveillance on it.
As they waited to pick up the items, a civilian accomplice, Abdul Samed Yussif a.k.a Matata, approached on a motorbike with a bag containing unregistered Taurus pistol and offered the same for sale.
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“In the bag contains17 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 59 rounds of M16 ammunition, 38 rounds of AK 47 assault rifle ammunition and 58 rounds of G3 ammunition,” police investigations say.
It is a crime in Ghana to wield an unregistered gun or any form of ammunition. Each year, the Ghana Police Service makes a generous gesture of receiving unregistered guns from civilians and paying them for their service.
Also, processes of attaining a license to wield a gun in Ghana, unlike other Western countries, are very rigorous.
Executive Secretary of the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons, in his opening address, Jones B. Applerh, has begged the contribution of Civil Society Organization (CSOs) in the fight against the infiltration of small guns in Ghana.
“I urge all CSOs to be up to the task to combat illicit weapons and spread of small arms before, during and after the 2020 elections. This is to ensure that Ghana continues to be a peaceful country,” he told CSOs at the United Nations Development Program.
Addressing the issue of the widespread of illicit arms and light weapons indeed requires partnerships with various actors including CSOs.
This is because CSOs are well placed to support relevant institutions to find and implement the needed solutions to fight against the flow of illicit arms and weapons due to their extensive knowledge of the local dynamics, trends and drivers of violence, and influence in the communities.
Empowering them is critical for advocacy, monitoring and identification of early warnings of possible outbreaks of violence and conflicts.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
