The Ghana Police Service has dismantled a criminal gang linked to the killing of police officers and a string of violent robberies targeting rural banks across five regions.
Ten suspects have been arrested, while three others were killed in confrontations with police. Two suspects remain on the run. Police say 14 weapons including AK-47 rifles stolen from slain officers have been recovered.
Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Christian Tetteh Yohuno, announced the breakthrough at a press conference on Wednesday, September 24, at the National Police Headquarters.
He said the gang operated between April and September 2025, using similar methods in different regions.
“We immediately got to work after painstaking investigations, working with credible informants and analysing available data,” Dr. Yohuno said. “I am pleased to announce that we have dismantled the gang behind these robberies.”
The intelligence-led operation covered the Ahafo, Western, Central, Eastern, and Ashanti regions, with raids on hideouts in towns such as Esereso, Adagya, Ejisu, and Obuasi.
According to the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department, COP Lydia Donkor, the gang carried out 11 armed attacks. The first was on April 10, 2025, at Adansi Rural Bank in Fomena, and the most recent on September 14, 2025, at St. Martin de Porres Cooperative Credit Union in Atonsu Monaco.
The gang typically struck in the early morning, holding security guards hostage, seizing their weapons, and using electric cutters to break into bank vaults.
Among the institutions attacked were:
• Lower Pra Rural Bank, Shama
• Asokore Rural Bank, Asokwa
• Nwabiagya Rural Bank, Offinso
• Bosomtwe Rural Bank, Suntreso
• Kakum Rural Bank, Elmina
• Mfantseman Rural Bank, Winneba
• South Birim Rural Bank, Achiase
• Ecobank, Ahafo Kenyase branch
The breakthrough came on September 18 when police arrested the gang’s leader, Kwasi Egyir, alias Cobra, at his hideout in Esereso Adagya. Two AK-47 rifles buried in a pond behind his house were recovered later identified as police rifles stolen during a robbery at Ecobank’s Kenyase branch on September 8, 2025.
During interrogation, Cobra named 14 accomplices, leading to arrests across the Ashanti Region. Those picked up include Ibrahim Alhassan, Samuel Appiah (Kwasi Mugu), Francis Akwa (Preyman), David Ewobi (Wasti), and Martin Akansina (One Billion).
Police also recovered an AK-47 rifle that belonged to Corporal Francis Adu Yaw, who was killed in a robbery on the Bibiani–Goaso highway on November 29, 2024. Four motorbikes, mobile phones, and jewellery were also seized.
Dr. Yohuno praised the Ashanti Regional Police Commander and his team for their role in the operation. Several officers have been promoted, including three Chief Inspectors elevated to Assistant Superintendents of Police.
He also acknowledged members of the public who provided vital information, saying their support was “critical in dismantling this gang.”
Police are still searching for Kwabena Owusu-Ansah (Kobi), believed to have recruited members of the gang, and another suspect known as Nana Albert.
Dr. Yohuno assured the public that the police would not relent: “We will continue to make life uncomfortable for criminal elements in our society. We will pursue you until you are brought to justice.”
The arrests are seen as a major boost in Ghana’s fight against violent crime, particularly attacks on financial institutions in rural areas.
