Arrest, retrieval of guts, explosives: It’s a plot against Presidency …and aimed as destabilising country -Information Ministers
The government says the arrest of three persons and retrieval of guns and explosives at a hospital in Accra and a second location was part of an operation to neutralise an elaborate plot targeted at the Presidency and aimed at destabilising the country.
It said the joint operation was undertaken after 15 months of surveillance and gathering of evidence on the activities of the prime suspects and others.
Reacting to reports of the arrest and seizure in statement signed and issued in Accra yesterday, Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said, the retrieved Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and all the exhibits as well as the suspects were currently in the custody of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) to assist in further investigations.
Three persons including the Medical Director of the Citadel Hospital at Alajo in Accra, Dr Frederick Yao Mac-Plam, were on Friday arrested in a joint Police, Military and National Security operation for allegedly manufacturing guns and explosives at the health facility.
The statement named the others as Ezor Kafui, a local weapon manufacturer and Bright Allan Debrah Ofosu (aka BB or ADC).
At Citadel Hospital, the statement said the personnel retrieved five locally manufactured pistols with magazines fitted on, one foreign pistol (Reg. No. PX154006) with two magazines, three locally manufactured pistol barrels, three smoke grenades, 22,IEDs, nine 7.62mm NATO AK47 rounds, two AK47 magazines and long knife.
Additionally, the team found the outlined plan for the operation presented by some soldiers at one of their meetings at Next Door Resort, seven mobile phones, two iPADs, two decoders, one modem, three tablets, one Ghanaian passport, two pendrives, one voice recorder, one USB connector and machines and materials for manufacturing weapons and IEDs, it added.
At a separate location, Bawaleshie near Dodowa, the statement said the operation led to the retrieval of 63 9mm NATO rounds.
Detailing the operation, the statement said surveillance on the activities of the persons involved commenced in June 2018, when Dr Mac-Palm and Mr Ofosu held series of meetings at the Next Door Beach Resort, in Teshie, and other locations in Accra, in furtherance of their objectives.
In August 2018, Dr Mac-Palm and two others, Kennedy Amoah and Dr Albert Sam (based in the USA) formed a group called “Take Action Ghana” to mobilise the youth and radicalise them against the political authority in Ghana.
In furtherance of their plan Dr Mac-Palm contracted Mr Ezor from Alavanyo to produce locally made weapons and IEDs for the operation which was started in July this year in a container, originally used as an X-Ray laboratory, at Citadel Hospital.
Dr Mac-Palm and Mr Ezor procured from the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, some essential chemicals to be mixed with gun powder, stone chippings, surgical needles and powdered pepper for their operations on September 10, 2019.
He also contracted a worker at the Base Workshop in Burma Camp to supply 10 AK 47 riffles and made advance payment of GH¢7,000.
The statement said that government would provide the necessary logistics and motivation to the country’s security agencies for intelligence gathering, capacity building and other operations to protect the country from terrorism, subversive activities and violent crimes.
It further assured the public that the security agencies were working vigilantly to safeguard national security and public safety and called on the public to provide information on any suspicious persons or activities in their various localities to the police for necessary action.
BY TIMES REPORTER
