Member of Parliament (MP) for the Wa West Constituency and a retired Superintendent of Police, Peter Lanchene Toobu has charged the Ghana Police Service to set up a specialised unit to safeguard bullion vans.
According to him, the police escorting bullion vans is a dangerous operation especially in an era where the country’s crime rate is increasing.
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“Escorting money is a dangerous operation now in an era where there are millions of young unemployed individuals walking the streets. So if you escort money as a policeman, know that your life is in danger and so is any other person in that car, because it is money you are escorting,” he told Happy98.9FM’s Don Kwabena Prah on the Epa Hoa Daben political talk show.
He noted that it is important that police escorts for bullion vans are given some form of specialised training to sharpen their skills and response time. “This way they can make split-second decisions and not get surprised by anyone.”
Superintendent Peter Lanchene Toobu (Rtd) added that as the police set up this specialised unit, “the law on bullion vans should be fulfilled with the vans meeting the necessary requirements to also play its part in keeping occupants safe.”
A Police Officer has unfortunately lost his life after being shot by suspected armed robbers during a bullion van attack on Monday, June 14, 2021.
The attack that reportedly occurred after midday happened around Korle Bu in Accra.
According to information gathered, the robbers followed the bullion van attack in a taxi, with one on a motorbike.
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Having gotten close to the van, they shot at the vehicle and in the process, killed the Police officer assigned to the van seated in the front seat.