•They extorted over ¢90,000 from a land winning firm
•The Okyehene Osagyefo Amoatia set the team up to clamp down on illegal mining
Two persons were allegedly shot by numerous members of the community mining protection taskforce at Adaeso in the Upper West District of the Eastern Region Wednesday, June 16 and are being treated at the Koforidua Regional hospital.
The community protection unit is a task force set up by the Okyehene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin to suppress illegal mining and logging.
They were said to have stormed some land winning concessions and unleashed brutalities on some workers who had questioned and resisted their operations.
The protection team has also been accused of stealing a cash sum of more than ¢90,000 after they attacked the sand-winning firm.
The suspects intimidated and extorted money from the workers according to Samuel Ato Forson, one of the persons whose concession was attacked.
Explaining further, they shot the thigh and legs of two of his workers on duty who had questioned why they retrieved over ¢90,000 from his accountant.
The victims are Razak Hassan aged 25 and Bright Apaw aged 30.
Mr. Ato Forson continued that they alerted the firm’s drivers who blocked the main Adaeso road with their tipper trucks to assist the police and some residents in arresting the suspects.
Three out of the suspects were however apprehended by the Adaeso District Police Command.
According to Mr Ato Forson, the police retrieved AK-47 assault rifles, ammunition, police and military uniforms and other apparatus when their vehicles were searched.
The suspects, however as alleged by Mr. Forson, have been released by the Adaeso Police after the police claim the Eastern Regional Minister, Seth Kwame Acheampong, called and ordered for their freedom.
The Adaeso District police commander established the incident when contacted by Accra-based Joynews.
He, however, declined to comment on the release of the suspects.
He emphatically stated that “the case was a fresh one and it wouldn’t be appropriate to comment at this time.”
The persons were shot for challenging the taskforce team members