Police in the Ashanti Region have foiled a planned highway robbery operation in a deadly encounter that left three suspected armed robbers dead and a cache of high-powered weapons seized.
The operation, carried out along the Anwiankwanta–Obuasi Highway, is believed to have prevented what police say could have been another violent attack on motorists.
The Ashanti South Regional Police Command says it has neutralised three suspected armed robbers during an intelligence-led operation aimed at preventing a planned highway robbery along the Anwiankwanta–Obuasi Highway in the Ashanti Region.
The suspects, identified as Seidu Issah, Musah Yakubu, and Yahaya Munkaila, also known as Tijani, were gunned down on December 24, 2025, after police encountered the group in a bush between Anwiankwanta and the Jacobu junction.
According to police, the suspects opened fire on officers during the encounter, prompting a return of fire. Three suspects were fatally shot, while two others managed to escape into the bush.
Items retrieved at the scene included two pump-action guns loaded with ammunition, one unbranded pistol, twenty-five live cartridges, and six spent cartridges.
The injured suspects were rushed to the Bekwai Municipal Hospital, where they were pronounced dead on arrival. Their bodies have since been deposited at the hospital morgue pending autopsy.
Police say preliminary investigations link the suspects to a string of violent robberies across parts of the Ashanti Region, including the Jacobu airport robbery on November 3, 2025, which claimed the life of a security man. Other incidents include multiple highway robberies along the Manso stretch, the Antoakrom robbery, the Abofour forest robbery near Offinso, and the attack on a gold buyer at Anwiankwanta on December 8.
In a follow-up operation conducted on December 26 at a palm plantation near Manso Nkwanta, believed to be a hideout for the gang, police recovered additional weapons. These included an AK-47 assault rifle, an MG3 rifle, a pump-action gun, and a single-barrel gun, along with ammunition and personal effects.
Police say efforts are ongoing to trace the sources of the weapons and apprehend accomplices still on the run, as security patrols along the affected highways have been intensified.
By Peter Quao Adattor
