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Eight (8) in police custody over kidnapping of two Canadians

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Eight (8) suspects including five Ghanaians and three Nigerians are in police custody assisting in investigations in relation to the recent kidnapping of two Canadian women.

The suspects were arrested at Kenyase, a suburb of Kumasi, at exactly 0515 hours on Wednesday, June 12, by a joint security forces, including the Bureau of National Investigations, Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service, Defence Intelligence and the Police SWAT Team.

The ladies are Lauren Patricia Catherine Tilley,19, and Bailey Jordan Chitly, 20, both Canadians, who were doing voluntary service with Youth Challenge International, a charity organization, were kidnapped by some unknown persons at Ahodwo, a suburb of Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region on Tuesday, June 4, 2019.

Updating the public at a news conference in Accra on Wednesday, on the rescue of the two Canadian women, the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said the necessary legal protocols will be followed to prosecute the suspects.

He said the special operation leading to the arrest of the suspects took 25 minutes with gunshots exchanges between the security forces and the suspects, which resulted in minor injuries to one of the suspects.

He said the two Canadian women had been flown to Accra and are being assisted by medical doctors and psychologists to undergo medical check-up and evaluation following their traumatic experience.

The Minister said the arrest was carried out by Ghanaian security operatives without any foreign assistance.

He urged all media commentators and the public to refrain from speculations and exercise circumspection on the matter in order not to compromise similar ongoing operations.

He said no ransom was mentioned or discussed throughout the operation leading to the arrest.

Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said there was anti-terrorism plan to create public awareness and some reading materials would be distributed to the media to help in sensitising and educating the public.

He urged Ghanaians to be security conscious and report any suspicious characters in their communities to the security agencies for swift action.

The Minister also confirmed the arrest of one suspect involved in the Takoradi kidnapping in Togo and would soon be arraigned before court for prosecution.

He said a recent meeting held by the National Security Operatives concluded that there was no threat to the country’s security and urged all Ghanaians and foreigners to go about their normal lives without fear or panic.

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