Soldier Grabbed With Pistol

A TWENTY-SEVEN-year-old-carpenter and a resident of Lashibi near Sakumono, Emmanuel Kwesi Brown, is in the custody of the Tema Regional Police Command for posing as a soldier and extorting money from the unsuspecting public with a toy pistol. The accused, according to the Regional Police Commander, Augustine Gyenning, was spotted by a naval officer around the Night-Market, an Ashaiman suburb, wearing a military uniform yesterday. Not satisfied with the appearance of the �soldier�, the naval man approached him and after a few minutes of interaction, the naval man had no option but to get him arrested. ACP Gyenning said Brown was quickly sent to the Naval Command in Tema where he was later handed over to his command, after which he was re-arrested by his men. He told the media that the accused person, during interrogation after his arrest, admitted to wearing the military uniform and extorting money from some unsuspecting persons around the Ashaiman area. Brown explained to the command that he found the military uniform in a bag at a bus station at Lashibi near Sakumono. The accused further explained that he kept the uniform in the bush and wore it occasionally, after which he forcefully extorted money from people. The suspect occasionally used a silver-coated toy pistol to scare his victims. The commander stated that at the time of his arrest, Brown carried a bag containing the silver-coated pistol, kitchen knife, a pinch-bar, a lady�s panty (very dirty), a wedding ring with some initials (JH), a wristwatch and a pair of sun glasses. He told the media that the accused person would be sent to court to be remanded while investigations continued. He appealed to any member of the general public who had been a victim of the accused or had information on him to contact his office to help investigate the matter. The accused person, later in an interview with DAILY GUIDE, confessed that it was true that he used the uniform to extort money from people and added that last Friday, he chanced upon a young man and a young lady behind a lotto kiosk around the Ashaiman Ghana Commercial Bank and threatened to arrest them if they did not give him money. He admitted to collecting GH�45 from the young man and later let them go. He denied that he was an armed robber but confessed that he was a petty thief. He said the dirty panty in his bag was that of his wife who is not aware that he is a thief. He also said he was from Odumase Krobo but had to convert from Christianity to Islam in order to marry his wife who is a Muslim. Emmanuel Kwesi Brown, who kept shaking his head and gazing into the sky, will be put before court for impersonation and possessing items that could be used in stealing and a military uniform.