3 SUSPECTED ROBBERS NABBED (PAGE 34)

The vigilance and support of a good Samaritan has led to the arrest of three suspected armed robbers who allegedly raided the Sunlight Engineering Company, dealers in roofing sheets at the Tema Light Industrial area, and made away with an unspecified amount of money at gunpoint.
A fourth suspect managed to escape arrest.
The three, Romeo Kpodo, 27, Sylvanus Sefa Agble, 29, and Ibrahim Abubakar, 22, drove an unregistered Peugeot 405 saloon car and had exhibits of 24 wrapped substances suspected to be cocaine, a laptop, a Samsung camera and one G3 rifle on the car.
Briefing the Daily Graphic on the arrest, the Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Inspector Olivia Turkson, said on August 14, 2008 at about 3p.m., four armed men went to the Sunlight Engineering Company under the pretext of purchasing some items.
She said on entering the customer services section, the four men ordered workers and some clients there at gunpoint to lie down or be shot.
Inspector Turkson said the robbers searched and collected unspecified amount of money and four mobile phones from the workers and clients.
She said the suspected robbers then entered the manager’s office and demanded that he opened his safe but he claimed there was no safe but a drawer so they opened it and collected GH¢2,000.
Inspector Turkson said whilst the robbers were conducting their operation, one of the workers managed to sneak out, scaled the wall and went to the Motorway roundabout to alert some police personnel who were on official duties there about the robbery.
Inspector Turkson said a good Samaritan assisted to drive the policemen who had no official vehicle to the scene, and on sensing danger the robbers sped off.
However, the good Samaritan gave them a hot chase till the car driven by the robbers got stuck in a muddy road near the Mac Baron Distilleries.
She said the robbers started firing at the police and the good Samaritan, who fortunately had a licensed rifle, with which he returned fire.
Inspector Turkson said the shoot-out went on for sometime until two of the robbers, Kpodo and Agble, were overpowered, arrested and sent to the police station.
She said about one and a half hours later some people who took it upon themselves to search for the remaining two suspected robbers got Abubakar, who was severely beaten before being sent to the police station .
Inspector Turkson said a search on the black unregistered Peugeot saloon car they were driving revealed the 24 wrapped pieces of cocaine, a G3 rifle, a laptop and a Samsung camera.
Inspector Turkson said the mobile phones and the unspecified amount of money could not be retrieved.
She said the three had been processed and would be put before court.