Photo: Notorious Armed Robber Arrested By Victim

History was made in Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital on Tuesday July 12, 2011, when the alertness and bravery of a robbery victim led to the arrest of the robber and his accomplice. The gallantry of Kwame Acheampong, the victim, led to the arrest of alleged robber Kofi Boakye aka �Barimaba�, a 26-year-old resident of Old Amakom, a suburb of Subin constituency. After the arrest, Mr Acheampong handed the suspect and his accomplice over to the Oforikrom Police Command for the necessary action to be taken against them. According to Acheampong, a resident of Bomso in the Oforikrom area, he went to the Baseline Internet Cafe in the area to browse with his laptop at about 8:24 pm on Thursday July 7, 2011. Whilst browsing there, the suspect and his colleague walked into the cafe and pretended to be browsing. Minutes later, Acheampong noted, the suspect and his accomplice allegedly took patrons at the cafe at the time hostage with a gun and locked the main gate. After taking them hostage, the victim alleged, the suspect and his accomplice took away two laptops, five system units, seven mobile phones and an amount of GH�1,600 belonging to the cafe attendant. Narrating further, Acheampong alleged that the robbers attempted to rape a female customer at the cafe but the resistance and the incessant screaming by the lady deterred them. Because they were in a hurry to bolt with their booty, the victim said, the robbers took to their heels and quickly jumped into a waiting taxi which sped off immediately. Mr Acheampong, whose laptop computer was taken away from him by the robbers, pointed out that he swiftly made a report to the Oforikrom Police Command about the incident. He disclosed that on Tuesday July 12, 2011, around 10am, whilst walking along the road at the Cabin area at Bomso, he spotted the two robbers boarding a Kejetia-bound trotro. Determined to trail his assailants, Acheampong said he immediately hired a taxi and chased the trotro carrying the two robbers. When the two robbers alighted from the bus upon reaching the Anloga Junction, the victim said he raised an alarm which led to the arrest of Boakye and his accomplice. Acheampong indicated that when Boakye was sent to the Oforikrom police station, a search conducted on him revealed two locally-made pistols, one of which was concealed in his boxer shorts, with the other in his hand bag. Three live cartridges, a mobile phone and a small bottle containing some blue substance believed to be chloroform were allegedly found on him. Two Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) security personnel who assisted Acheampong in arresting Boakye, in an interview, indicated that the suspect was one of the most wanted robbers who have been allegedly terrorising students of the country�s premier science and technology university. When contacted, a source at the Oforikrom Police Command who pleaded anonymity, confirmed the arrest and indicated that investigations have been launched into the case to ascertain the veracity of the claim, after which the necessary action would be taken.