Two suspected armed robbers believed to be behind a series of robberies and killings at Mankranso and surrounding areas in the Ashanti Region have been killed during a police operation at Offinso in the Ashanti North Region.
The suspects, identified as Osman Majid Abdul Sadik, alias Cross, aged 25, and Abdulai Sadik, aged 20, were fatally wounded when they allegedly engaged the police in a gun battle during an intelligence-led operation.
According to the Ashanti South Regional Police Command, intelligence gathered revealed that suspect Cross and his gang had been involved in several violent robberies and murders in Mankranso and its environs. Acting on credible information, the command identified three hideouts at Offinso, believed to be the gang’s operational base.
A special operation team led by three senior officers and other ranks, using both branded and unbranded service vehicles, conducted a simultaneous raid on the identified locations.
At one of the hideouts in Offinso Anyankaso, the police said suspect Cross fired a gunshot from his room and attempted to escape through the ceiling. The police returned fire, leading to both suspects sustaining gunshot wounds.
A search conducted at the scene led to the recovery of a pump-action gun with six rounds of ammunition, a black Smith & Wesson pistol, 50 rounds of 9mm ammunition, an unmarked pistol, two spent cartridges, and several other items including three smartphones, two keypad phones, mobile accessories, an Apple laptop, a machete, body armor, talismans, long boots, a smock, a picture frame of the gang, and GH¢2,680 in cash.
A Ghana Card bearing the name Osman Majid and the picture of suspect Cross was also found.
During interrogation, before being taken for medical attention, Cross reportedly confessed to his involvement in multiple robberies in the Manso area and admitted to killing three people at Mankranso. He also mentioned his accomplices — Kingkong, Roy, Fii, Raph, Koboo, Ali, and Ike — and revealed that some of the gang’s weapons were being kept at a mining site in Manso.
The suspects were rushed to the Bekwai Municipal Hospital for treatment but were pronounced dead on arrival. Their bodies have since been deposited at the hospital’s morgue for preservation and autopsy.
The police say investigations are ongoing to apprehend the remaining accomplices and recover the weapons said to be in their possession.
