Armed robbers attack traders at Paga border

Six armed robbers on Tuesday attacked and robbed some black market exchange traders of their monies at Paga border in the Kassena-Nankana District of the Upper East Region.

The incident started at about 9 am, near Dakola at the Burkina Faso side of the border where some of the black market exchange traders transact their businesses.

The Ghanaian Times gathered that the six robbers who were armed with guns came to the robbery scene with three motorbikes, and robbed the traders who had just begun their businesses in the main market in the morning.

Speaking to the Ghanaian Times, some eyewitnesses said some of the robbers blocked both sides of the ECOWAS road amidst sporadic gun shots, whilst others also moved to stalls, threatening the traders with the guns to give up their monies to them or face the consequences.

 Some of the traders who managed to escape to the border site of Ghana informed personnel of the Ghana Immigration Service and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority stationed at the Paga border town of Ghana who proceeded to the robbery scene and exchanged gun fire, forcing the armed robbers to retreat.

The border security personnel, however, called for reinforcement from the police and the military, chased the robbers and finally arrested two of them at Pindaa, whilst the rest escaped into the bush.

The District Chief Executive (DCE) of Kassena-Nankana, Mr Gerard Ataogye, who confirmed the story to the Ghanaian Times said, he was informed by personnel of the Ghana Immigration Service about the incident.

He said the two arrested robbers are foreigners from neigbouring Burkina Faso and have since been handed over to the law enforcement agencies in Burkina Faso.

Mr Ataogye said the security agencies in Ghana were in talks with their counterparts in Burkina Faso to see how they could apprehend the rest of the perpetrators who escaped to deal with them

The DCE lauded the efforts of the Ghanaian security agencies for their timely intervention and entreated the residents of the area, particularly traders, to immediately report to the security agencies any suspicious criminal.

Meanwhile, some of the residents who spoke to the Ghanaian Times said it was not the first time such an incident had happened and called on the security agencies to be  extra vigilant.

FROM SAMUEL AKAPULE, PAGA