Fishermen �Capture� Navy Man

A naval officer was captured and held hostage by some Ada fishermen for several hours on Saturday. He was among a team of security personnel from the Navy and the Marine Police which stormed Akplabanya in the Ada West District in three vehicles to arrest fishermen using illegal fishing equipment. It took the intervention of the Ada Police Command to have him released after five hours of negotiations with the leaders of the community. According to eye-witnesses, the team seized unauthorized fishing nets, generators and clamped the canoes of the fishermen, who protested vehemently. In the ensuing melee, a Naval Officer handcuffed one of the fishermen, amid firing of warning shots. The eye-witnesses said the situation degenerated into a free-for-all fight which compelled the security men to retreat and in the process; the Naval Officer was �captured� by the fishermen and detained. The fishermen also damaged a vehicle with registration number 41GA- belonging to the Navy. It took the intervention of the Ada District Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Dodzi Godact Hlodzi and personnel from the Rapid Deployment Force of the Tema Regional Police Command to have the Naval Officer released. When our reporter visited the scene on Sunday morning, the road leading to the community had been blocked with red flags hoisted on sticks to ward off �intruders.� Some of the fishermen showed the injuries inflicted on them by the Navy.