|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Special Operations Team has apprehended 74 suspects during two intelligence-driven operations targeting narcotics, violent crime, and other criminal activities in the Upper East Region. The operations, carried out between May 20 and May 22, 2026, are part of the Ghana Police Service’s ongoing efforts to dismantle criminal networks operating in the region and along the Ghana–Burkina Faso border corridor.
In the first operation on May 20 at Paga, within the Ghana–Burkina Faso border buffer zone, police arrested 40 suspects—28 men and 12 women. The detainees included 23 Ghanaians, eight Nigerians, six Burkinabés, one Malian, and one Togolese national. Authorities seized several exhibits, including parcels and sacks of suspected narcotics, as well as five motorbikes believed to have been used for distribution.
The second operation, conducted on May 22 in the Navrongo Municipality, targeted criminal hotspots such as the Condemned Road Corridor, “After Six” Spot, and “Lighter Inn” Spot. This exercise led to the arrest of 34 suspects—32 men and two women. Police recovered 11 motorbikes, quantities of suspected narcotics, and assorted foreign cigarettes.
The suspects were arraigned the same day before His Lordship Justice Ernest Pascal Gemadzie. Sixteen individuals were remanded into police custody and are scheduled to reappear in court on June 4, 2026, while the remaining 22 suspects are undergoing profiling for further investigation.
The Ghana Police Service confirmed that all suspects remain in custody assisting with ongoing investigations, as efforts continue to identify and apprehend other individuals linked to criminal activities in the region.
The Police Service reiterated its commitment to intensifying intelligence-led operations to combat organized crime, drug trafficking, and related offences across Ghana.
Story by Efua Nessa