PHOTOS: Five times Ghanaian police officers have been attacked in a makeshift bullion van

• 5 times police officers have been attacked in a bullion van

• The police are investigating the case

The safety of police officers who provide security to banks whenever they are transporting cash is trending hypocritically following the Monday, June 14 attack on a policeman carrying bank cash in an SUV truck at Jamestown, Accra.

The attack claimed the life of Police Constable General Emmanuel Osei.

In addressing the unfortunate death and matters arising, the Ghana Police Service per their PRO issued a statement whose subject described the vehicle as a bullion van.

Do the Ghana police know what a bullion van is?

Clearly, they do not, and the term is still being bandied about.

Let us, therefore, share with you five times police officers have recently been attacked in a Ghanaian-style bullion van – an SUV truck with a covered bucket and a padlock.

The latest attack makes it five times a gang of armed robbers have successfully defeated and killed armed police officers. There was one occasion when one policeman survived, but even on that sad occasion, he was assaulted by the armed robbers and his rifle taken from him.

The Ghana Police Service has been able to apprehend some of the robbers in some cases while others are still under investigations.

GhanaWeb’s Ekow Arthur-Aidoo in this report recounts some cases of bullion van attacks by armed robbers which have claimed the lives of some police officers in Techiman, Sefwi Wiawso, Adansi Fomena, Baatsona and the latest one at Jamestown.

Jamestown

On Monday, June 14, Police Constable Emmanuel Osei and an eyewitness, Afua Badu, were murdered by armed robbers at Adedenkpo, a suburb of Accra, while transporting money in – oh, the term again – a bullion van!

The robbers trailed the victims in a taxi and on a motorbike, popularly called, ‘okada’. Upon arrival at a less crowded location, the armed robbers fired indiscriminately, killing the police officer in the bank crew instantly.

Armed robbers shooting a policeman on escort duty and killing him instantly!

The driver of the bullion van also sustained gunshot wounds and was treated at the Police Hospital in Accra while a woman teller in the bullion van was also taken to the same hospital to be treated for trauma.

The suspected robbers made away with the policeman’s weapon and also took a safe with an unspecified amount of money after breaking the padlock used to lock the rear of the – ooops – bullion van.

Constable Emmanuel Osei was killed by armed robbers

Adansi Fomena

A policeman who was on escort duty on the Adansi Fomena road in the Ashanti Region was killed by some highway armed robbers on Tuesday, January 19, 2021.

The men, numbering about 10, allegedly shot Lance Corporal Martin Babah during the attack on the – I hate to say it – bullion van. The police normally sit in the passenger seat in front making them easy targets.

Sources say the van with registration number GT 543-19 was being driven by Eric Amoah, 36, and Emmanuel Boateng, 33, both personnel of Delta Security Services.

During the incident that occurred around 10.30 am on the section of the road between Obuasi and Adansi Asokwa Junction in the outskirts of Adansi Nyankumaso, the robbers reportedly made away with an amount of GH¢500,000 which was in the van, and the AK 47 assault rifle held by police officer Babah.

A police situational report on the incident described it as “robbery and murder” and mentioned the date as January 19, 2021.

The report said, “about ten young men, unmasked and wielding assorted guns, including AK 47 rifles, attacked and robbed a white bullion Van from GCB Bank, Dunkwa to New Edubiase.

The men were firing indiscriminately from the rear and facing the van.
This subsequently forced the driver of the bullion van to stop. While the two private security men did not sustain any injury, Lance Corporal Martin Babah was shot by the robbers on the left leading to his death on the spot.”

The driver then reportedly handed over the keys to the robbers to have access to the money in the van upon demand.

The armed men took the money in the van along with the AK 47 rifle which is said to have about 20 rounds.

Lance Corporal Martin Babah reportedly died on the spot

Baatsona

Four suspected armed robbers attacked a bullion van and made away with an unspecified amount of money in a broad daylight robbery at Baatsona on the Spintex Road, Accra, on Monday, March 1, 2021, at about 3:30 pm, leaving residents and onlookers shell-shocked by the Hollywood-style robbery.

The robbers were driving a black Toyota Camry with registration GX 6337-14 as well as an unidentified motorbike when they intercepted the so-called bullion van amidst indiscriminate firing of gunshots.

The driver of the bullion van and one passenger managed to escape, leaving the police officer escorting the van at the mercy of the robbers who took away his service rifle and mercilessly beat him up.

“An unspecified amount of money was robbed in the attack,” the police disclosed.

The police said upon their arrival at the scene, the robbers had already left – of course, but they saw three AK 47 spent shells as well as the robbed van suspected to belong to CAL Bank Ghana.

DSP Efia Tenge told the media at the time that no arrest had been made.

She added the police patrol team from Baatsona Division had information from the police control room that there was a robbery incident at Dampong Hospital and Pharmacy on the Spintex Road and moved in to assist.

She said on arrival, the team saw a Toyota Mobile Banking Van parked by the side of the road.

“The robbers had already finished their operation and gone but inspection of the vehicle showed that its padlocks and hinges on the bucket were broken and the glass was riddled with bullets suspected to be AK 47 bullets,” DSP Tenge stated.

She said the bucket of the vehicle was empty with white wrappers scattered all over.

DSP Tenge continued that their preliminary investigations revealed that at about 3:30 pm, the money van which was being used to collect daily sales from traders in markets and shops was seen ahead of the black Toyota Camry and an unidentified motorbike.

“Our information indicated that when they got to a nearby school, the black Toyota Camry and the motorbike crossed the mobile money van, compelling the van to stop abruptly,” DSP Tenge pointed out.

She explained that amidst gunshots, the robbers used a hammer to break the hinges and the padlocks of the van and transferred all the money into a black Toyota Camry and bolted.

She added that the police were yet to be briefed on the total amount of money robbed.

Meanwhile, further information gathered had it that the truck with a covered bucket – no, not a bullion van – was seen coming from the direction of Danpong Hospital ahead of a black Toyota Camry towards the main Addogonno road that links Baatsona and Nungua.

The source said just opposite the Harvest Academy, the black Camry overtook the cash-carrying truck a.k.a bullion van and abruptly stopped, and in the ensuing process, one of the occupants quickly came down and gave a warning shot. Thereupon, the driver of the truck (or GH bullion van, for clarity) and one other passenger got down and escaped through the school leaving only the police officer in the car.

The source said the policeman was ordered out of the GH bullion van by the robbers and was assaulted with a mallet before he was again ordered to lie down on the road.

“They disarmed him and took away his service rifle after which they used the mallet to damage both the padlock and the second lock on the bullion van, packed the money and escaped with it in the waiting black Camry,” the source disclosed.

The source added that the driver of the bullion van, a staff of CAL Bank, Baatsona branch, identified as Ebo Amissah, appeared later at the scene with other officials from the bank.

The source added that besides the cash that was stolen, one Samsung tablet and two CAL Bank cheques from Paa Nii Agency with face values of GH¢17,000 and GH¢50,000 each were also taken by the robbers.

Techiman

A gang of four attacked on Friday, May 8, 2020, you know it already – a bullion van – at Mmaampehia, near Techiman in the Bono East Region, taking away over GH¢600,000.

The police later retrieved GH¢234,000 of the amount, which was being transported to an undisclosed destination by the ABSA Bank.

The armed men also made away with an AK 47 rifle and 19 rounds of bullets they seized from a policeman on board the GH bullion van.

The Bono East Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Djan Kyere told the media that the robbers, armed with guns, attacked the truck at about 5.30 p.m., wounding the driver and the escort policeman before fleeing with the booty.

On the truck with registration number GT 3181-W, was the driver, identified as Frank Agyeman, Lance Corporal Yussif Abubakar and an official of the bank, Sampson Kofi Sarfo.

According to him, the robbers left behind GH¢39,000 in the truck, while GH¢195,000 was retrieved when the vehicle used by the robbers was intercepted at Akomadan in the Ashanti Region.

DCOP Kyere explained that after attacking the vehicle and making away with the money, the robbers sped off and later parked their saloon car in front of an uncompleted gari processing factory at Akomadan to share their booty.

He said while they were sharing the money, they were spotted by a police guard, who called for reinforcement for their arrest.

He said when the police reinforcements arrived, the robbers had run away, leaving behind the saloon car they had used for the robbery.

During a search in the car, the police found GH¢195,000, a 3G rifle and a pump-action gun.

The robbers, however, went away with the AK 47 rifle they seized from L/Cpl Abubakar and the gun they used in their operation.

One arrested

DCOP Kyere disclosed that somebody showed up to claim ownership of the vehicle used by the robbers and he was arrested for interrogation.

The victims of the robbery, who were rushed to the Techiman Holy Family Hospital, were treated and discharged, while the truck was towed to the Techiman Police Station.

The regional police commander added that the police were investigating the matter.

Sefwi Wiawso

Police General Sergeant Emmanuel Chikudoh died on Tuesday, December 3, 2019, when he was shot by suspected armed robbers at Sefwi Asempanye in Sefwi Wiawso, Western North Region.

General Sergeant Emmanuel Chikudoh was part of a team that was escorting a GH bullion van to an ADB Bank branch at Sefwi Wiawso when they came under attack at Sefwi Asempanye.

According to the police situational report (SITREP) GhanaWeb intercepted, the incident happened at about 11 am on that fateful Tuesday.

The Acting Manager of the ADB Bank branch at Sefwi Wiawso reported to the police that their bullion van, a Nissan with registration number GT 9436-17, was being escorted by a team led by Saviour Amuzu when it came under attack by two armed men.

The attackers were reportedly holding pump-action guns on the outskirts of the community near Sefwi Asempaneye.

According to the police SITREP, the team including General Sergeant Chikodoh was on its way to the Essam branch of the ADB Bank to escort cash to the Sefwi-Wiawso branch.

The police team which was dispatched to the area after the report on arrival discovered Sergeant Chikudoh with gunshot wounds on the head. He was rushed to the St. John of God Hospital at Sefwi Asafo but died before arrival.

According to the police SITREP, all other occupants of the bullion van escaped unhurt.

The deceased’s service rifle has since been recovered by the police and stated at the time that they had intensified patrols in the area and its environs with the hope of getting the culprits arrested.

The deceased, General Sergeant Emmanuel Chikudoh