On Friday, December 9, 2022, a lady was shot at Caprice, a popular suburb of Accra, by a group of armed robbers riding on motorbikes. Various accounts alleged that the lady had gone to withdraw huge sums of money from the bank and was apparently tracked and attacked at Caprice.
The police later issued a statement indicating that they were still looking for the robbers, and that they would definitely arrest them to face the full rigours of the law.
A few days later, the police issued another statement indicating they had shot dead two armed robbers and arrested one, in connection with the robbery attack at Caprice, in Accra. According to the statement, sustained police intelligence operations, since December 9, 2022, took the fight to the robbery gang at their hideout.
The robbers engaged the police in a shoot-out, and in the process two were shot dead and one arrested, the statement said, adding, “One police officer sustained [a] gunshot injury to his thigh and is receiving medical attention.”
It is important to note that during the early days of the current Inspector General of Police (IGP) after his appointment, a lady who had also gone to one of the banks to withdraw money was chased and attacked at the traffic light, near the Apenkwa interchange in Accra.
Fortunately, the lady cooperated with the robbers and her life was spared. Later, some people, including police personnel, were arrested, but the public has not been told whether these suspects knew something about the Apenkwa robbery or not.
But what all these armed robberies tell us is that criminal gangs are operating in and outside most of our banks and leaking information about customers who come to transact business.
This is a very dangerous development, and we urge the police to delve deeper into it and unravel the syndicate behind these criminal conducts. We remember when the James Town robbery occurred we advised investigators to expand their scope to cover personnel working at the bank, to ascertain if any of them had made a call to some of the robbers.
Thankfully, now all the SIM Cards in Ghana have been registered with the aid of the Ghana Card. We, therefore, advice the police to investigate calls personnel of the affected banks made within the period that the ‘Caprice Lady’ went to the bank to withdraw the money.
Two of the suspected robbers, according to the police statement, had been shot dead, but this, in our view, should not end the case.
The mobile phone numbers of these deceased robbers and the one who has been arrested should be examined to ascertain the number or numbers that called their lines within the period that the money was withdrawn.
This, we dare say, will give the police a clue as to whether any of the bank staff called them (robbers) or not. The Close Circuit Television Cameras at the bank must also be reviewed to know the customers in the banking hall when the lady withdrew the money and their demeanor during and after the money had been withdrawn.
This is the only way, we believe, the police can get to the bottom of the matter and stop the attacks on people who go to the banks to withdraw money.
The police must also take it upon themselves to educate the public to stop withdrawing huge sums of money from the banks.
In this technological age, where electronic transfer is the order of the day, it is not necessary to be withdrawing large amounts of physical cash to transact business or pay workers.
