Two armed robbers have been shot dead in an anti-armed robbery operation by the Police at Ntoaso in the Eastern Region.

The successful operation also saw the retrieval of some dangerous weapons including; 1 AK 47 Assault Rifle, 1 M 16 Rifle, 1 Pump Action Gun, shotguns, pistol, BB Cartridges machetes, knives, claw bar etc.

In a statement, the police explained that “As part of security measures adopted by the Police Administration under the new Anti-Armed Robbery Task Force (AARTF) strategy to curb robberies and other violent crimes in the country, Intelligence was picked from a source that some Arms and Ammunitions had been concealed by a gang of Armed Robbers at Ntoaso, a town in the Eastern Region”

“In response to the Intelligence gathered, a team from the National Operations Directorate (NOD) Surveillance Unit and three other Combat Patrol Teams were dispatched to the location to retrieve the said weapons,” it added.

According to the statement, on reaching the location, the suspected robbers took to their heels on seeing the Police. “The team began to search and retrieve the weapons and, in the process, one of the suspected Robbers (yet to be identified), who was hiding in a nearby room opened fire on the Police and hit the hand of one of the officers, injuring his two fingers in the process. The Police responded accordingly and gunned down the suspected robber while one other was arrested,” the police said

The statement disclosed that the injured officer was taken to the Police Hospital for treatment “and observations at the Hospital indicate that he might undergo surgery to restore the state of two of his fingers that were hit by the suspected robber”.

It pointed out that investigations are underway to arrest the other suspected armed robbers and that further details would be made available when the need arises.