Offinso DePaul Tailor Among 4 Remanded Over GH¢20m Gold Robbery

The Nsuta Circuit Court in the Sekyere Central District of the Ashanti Region has remanded four individuals into police custody over alleged involvement in a series of armed robberies.

The accused persons are 30-year-old tailor Issah Musa, a resident of DePaul, a suburb of Offinso; 33-year-old alluvial miner Clinton Mawuli Ashirow, of Dodowa in the Greater Accra Region; 33-year-old mobile money vendor and former military officer Duker Prince, of Odorkor in the Greater Accra Region; and 25-year-old student Wilfred Quansah, of Brahabebome, a suburb of Obuasi.

‎The remand order was issued by the presiding judge, His Lordship Simon Nketiah Gagah, on Friday, September 11, 2026.

‎Prosecuting, Chief Inspector C.K. Gyesi, told the court that the complainants in the case are personnel of the Police Intelligence Directorate (PID) of the Ashanti North Police Region in Mampong.

According to the prosecution, on August 12, 2026, at about 10:30 p.m., a policewoman, whose name has been withheld, stationed at the Offinso Divisional Police Command, was attacked and allegedly raped at gunpoint while on her way home after duty.

The prosecution said that on August 13, 2026, a team from the Ashanti North Regional PID, assisted by personnel from the Ashanti Central and Ashanti South regions and the IGP’s Special Operations Team, popularly known as Black Maria, was deployed to investigate the incident and arrest the perpetrators.

‎The court heard that on August 18, 2026, Issah Musa was arrested in connection with the alleged attack and rape of the policewoman at DuPaul, Offinso.

Investigations, according to the prosecution, revealed that Musa was allegedly a member of an armed robbery gang that had been terrorising and robbing gold shops and mining sites in Manso in the Ashanti Region, Diaso, Ayanfuri and Assin Kusha in the Central Region, as well as Wassa Akropong in the Western North Region.

‎The prosecution said further investigations established that Musa was recruited into the seven-member gang in January 2026 by Seidu Salifu, who is now deceased, after being promised substantial financial gains.

‎On January 28, 2026, Musa and six others, five of whom were armed with AK-47 rifles, allegedly attacked and robbed a gold merchant’s shop at Diaso of gold valued at GH¢20 million.

‎The prosecution said Musa admitted in his investigation caution statement to participating in the robbery and receiving GH¢18,000 as his share of the proceeds.

‎Musa reportedly mentioned Seidu Salifu, Master, Abedi, Trouble, Fuseini and Billy as his accomplices but denied any knowledge of the alleged rape of the policewoman on August 12, 2026.

Further intelligence, the court heard, led to the arrest of Clinton Mawuli Ashirow, Duker Prince and Wilfred Quansah at Dodowa, Odorkor and Brahabebome-Obuasi respectively.

‎The prosecution said investigations revealed that Ashirow had allegedly been recruited into the robbery gang by three persons whose names were withheld from the court.

In 2024, Ashirow, together with Abedi and Master, allegedly embarked on their first robbery expedition at Manso in the Ashanti Region. The gang, armed with an AK-47 rifle and a pump-action gun, allegedly attacked a galamsey site and robbed miners of an unspecified quantity of gold.

‎The stolen gold was subsequently sold, and the proceeds were shared among the members according to their respective roles. Ashirow allegedly received GH¢5,000 as his share.

‎A month later, Ashirow, Abedi and Master allegedly returned to another galamsey site at Manso, where they robbed miners of some quantity of gold. Ashirow reportedly received GH¢18,000 as his share of the proceeds.

The prosecution further alleged that the third robbery expedition involving Issah Musa, Abedi, Master and Billy took place at Ayanfuri in the Central Region, where they attacked and robbed a gold buyer on a motorbike of some quantity of gold.

The stolen gold was sold and the proceeds shared among the four, with Musa allegedly receiving GH¢200,000 as his share.

‎In the case of Duker Prince, the prosecution said investigations revealed that he was a Lance Corporal in the Ghana Armed Forces, attached to the Infantry Unit at 4BN Burma Camp, before resigning on personal grounds on July 27, 2026.

‎‎Before his resignation, Prince allegedly made contact with Abedi and Master, who were members of Musa’s alleged robbery gang, in July 2025. He was subsequently invited to join them at a galamsey site at Assin Kusha, an invitation he allegedly accepted.

A month later, Prince reportedly took a pass from his unit and travelled to Obuasi, where he met Abedi, Master, Billy and Driver.

‎The prosecution said Prince and the others subsequently went to a galamsey site at Assin Kusha in the Central Region, where they allegedly robbed miners of some quantity of gold.

‎The gold was later sold, and Prince allegedly admitted receiving GH¢6,000 as his share of the proceeds. The money was reportedly handed to him by Master and Abedi at Akaporiso, a suburb of Obuasi.

‎With regard to Wilfred Quansah, the prosecution said he was arrested at his residence at Brahabebome-Obuasi, where Abedi, described as a member of the alleged robbery gang, had allegedly concealed three AK-47 rifles and 350 rounds of ammunition in the ceiling of his room.

‎The court further heard that investigation caution statements were obtained from the accused persons, in which they allegedly admitted their involvement in the offences.

As investigations are still ongoing, the accused persons were not called upon to enter pleas and were subsequently remanded into police custody.

‎The case has been adjourned to September 23, 2026, for further proceedings.