Police arrest five fake National Security operatives in Western Region

Five men accused of posing as National Security operatives have been arrested in the Western North Region after police linked them to an alleged raid on a mining site in the Dadieso area.

The suspects are being investigated for conspiracy, unlawful damage and stealing following what police say was a planned operation carried out under false official pretences.

At a press briefing in Sefwi-Wiawso, Western North Regional Police Commander DCOP Dr Francis Kwame Tsidi said the men were arrested on 2 April 2026 at about 6:00pm after police acted on intelligence.

According to him, the group had been moving around communities near Suiaboi, including mining locations, while dressed in National Security clothing. Police say they were demanding documents from miners and seizing items as though they were carrying out a legitimate state assignment.

Their conduct drew suspicion from residents, some of whom challenged them while others quietly followed the group toward Dadieso and passed on information to the police.

Officers then moved in and arrested the suspects, who were later taken to the Dadieso Police Station for further questioning.

Police identified the men as Amponsah Asare Wagan, Nelson Agbodzah, Awedagah Norbert, Francis Brefo and Benjamin Boakye, who was driving a Toyota Hilux with registration number GX 1095-19.

During interrogation, several of the suspects claimed connections to public institutions. One of them, Amponsah Asare Wagan, is said to have presented himself as a doctor, the son of a senior security figure and an NDC branch communicator in Kwadaso. Others allegedly claimed links to National Security operations at the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council and to NADMO at Nhyeaso.

But police say their initial checks have cast doubt on those claims. Investigators have already concluded that at least two of the men, Amponsah Asare Wagan and Francis Brefo, are unemployed and have no official relationship with National Security.

The police commander said further enquiries suggest the entire mission was organised in advance.

Investigators believe Amponsah Asare Wagan assembled the group in Kumasi, initially telling them they were travelling to Bibiani for intelligence work. Police say he later redirected them to a mining site at Suiaboi.

Once there, the suspects allegedly damaged equipment, searched rooms used by workers and stole mobile phones as well as GH¢2,000 in cash.

A search of the rented vehicle they were using led to the recovery of several items, including water pumping machines, car batteries, a starter, a hose, keys, mobile phones, a live AA cartridge, a pair of military camouflage trousers and a metal object believed to be part of an excavator.

Police say Wagan has admitted putting the operation together and told investigators he had been engaged by a former employee of the mining site, identified only as Yaw, who allegedly wanted to expose the activities of his former employer.

Documentation has also been obtained from LEASAFRIC, the Kumasi-based rental company from which the vehicle was hired, as part of the ongoing investigation.

Police say the suspects will be taken to court once enquiries are completed. The service has meanwhile urged the public to stay alert and report anyone falsely presenting themselves as security personnel.