Police arrest 8 fake National Security operatives

A police investigation is underway in the Central Region after eight people were arrested over allegations that they posed as national security operatives and robbed illegal miners at Assin Awisam.

The group is accused of arriving in the community on Friday in a black Mitsubishi pick-up and a Toyota Voxy, then carrying out what residents say looked like a security operation but turned into a robbery.

According to reports from the area, the suspects took away cash, mobile phones and an unspecified quantity of gold from miners during the raid.

What followed was a sharp community backlash.

Residents, already suspicious of the group, are said to have confronted them on the spot, deflated the tyres of their vehicles and attempted to attack them. The tension was only contained after local leaders stepped in and handed the suspects over to the police in Awisam.

Even after the arrests, the anger did not immediately subside. Youth in the area reportedly gathered at the police station, forcing the Assin North Regional Police Command to send in reinforcement. The suspects were later moved to Assin Foso under heavy security.

Police say all eight are in custody and assisting with investigations.

During preliminary questioning, the suspects are said to have admitted taking some mobile phones, although they reportedly denied stealing gold.

The incident has also reopened wider concerns within the community.

A local youth leader, George Anokye, told reporters that residents believe this was not the first time the same group had targeted miners while presenting themselves as state operatives. He alleged that they had been engaged in repeated extortion and claimed that in an earlier incident, a miner’s water pumping machine was set on fire after he allegedly failed to satisfy their demands.

His warning was that unless authorities respond decisively, repeated accusations of extortion under the cover of anti-galamsey operations could further inflame tensions in the area.