Trader in police custody …for unlawful possession of firearms

By Dora Akyaa Asare

A- thirty-five year old man has been arrested by the Accra Regional Police Command on the charge of unlawful possession of firearm. He is currently in police custody assisting the police in their investigations.

The suspect, Habib Ali, a trader and a native of Salaga in the Northern Region,  but residing at Mankessim, in the Central Region, was arrested on Wednesday, when he was about to sell two  pistols to an undercover police officer.

Briefing The Chronicle yesterday in Accra, the Accra Regional Crime Officer, Chief Superintendent Emmanuel Frank Adufati, said on September 17, 2012, the Regional Police Command had information that a certain man (Habib Ali), was offering two foreign-made  pistols for sale at GH¢1,500 each at Mankessim.

According to the crime officer, the informer provided the accused’s cell phone number and the police command quickly hooked up with the accused. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Justice Nana Oppong, feigned interest in buying the pistol.

The police officer called the suspect’s number and arranged to meet him at a rendezvous spot. According to the police, the suspect confessed that he previously owned 10 pistols and that he had succeeded in selling eight of them, to undisclosed clients at Mankessim.

On the morning of September 19, 2012, the buyer (ASP Oppong) and his team of policemen drove from Accra to Mankessim to meet the suspects at a petrol filling station.

According to the police, the suspect met the buyer without the arms. When the buyer questioned him about it, he stated that he wanted to review the ‘environment’ before bringing the weapons.

He said when the suspect was satisfied with the ‘environment’, he later went to his house  and brought the weapons.

ASP Oppong, according to the police, was advised by the suspect to move his car from the filling station to prevent prowling eyes witnessing the deal. The suspect, therefore, sat in the car of the buyer with his driver and parked at what was considered a safe location.

Upon interrogation, the suspect claimed that he was given the two pistols by one Moro from Darkuman, to keep and then look for a buyer for him. Meanwhile the suspect is being processed for court.

 

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