Seven suspected armed robbers remanded after Upper East police operation

Pinned summary · as of 16:37

Police in the Upper East Region have detained seven men on suspicion of armed robbery in the Zebilla, Garu and Binduri areas. A court in Bolgatanga has ordered that they stay in police custody until their next appearance on 23 September 2026.

What we know

• Seven suspects, aged between 20 and 41, were picked up by the Upper East Regional Police Command in connection with a string of alleged robberies around Zebilla, Garu and Binduri.
• Officers credited the arrests to an intelligence-led effort by the Police Intelligence Directorate and the recently formed Black Cobra Unit, with help from community watch volunteers in Zebilla.
• Police said two victims came forward after the arrests and picked out two of the suspects. The victims told officers they were held up at gunpoint and lost two Yamaha scooters valued at GH₵30,000 and GH₵32,000.
• Police said the suspects admitted during questioning that they belong to a wider network of gangs that gets weapons from others. The suspects' own account of this has not been reported.
• According to police, searches at the homes of three of the suspects yielded GH₵29,550 in cash, which officers suspect came from crime, along with a pair of motorbikes that had no registration. Rainbow Radio Online, Opemsuo 104.7 and Onua Online added that quantities of suspected drugs were also found.
• The Bolgatanga Circuit Court ordered the seven held in police custody, with their next appearance set for 23 September 2026.
• Police said they are still working to identify and arrest a supplier of weapons who is said to be based in Bawku.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Onua Online reported on 19 September that police team members came under gunfire while retrieving hidden rifles from the Tilly Forest, that three suspects were hurt and were pronounced dead at hospital, and that two officers were injured. No other report has confirmed this, and the three men named do not all match the seven suspects listed in earlier accounts.
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  Onua Online said police tied the suspects to the murder of one of its officers in a Zebilla holdup on 8 February 2026, and to a wider run of attacks that also targeted riders and mobile money vendors in places such as Benaba and Pusiga. These are police allegations reported by that publication alone.
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  Onua Online listed weapons and other items recovered by police, including two pistols, two locally made single-barrel guns, four unregistered Yamaha Aerox scooters and three cutlasses. Other reports do not carry this inventory.

Why it matters for Ghana

Residents of Zebilla, Garu and Binduri were the targets of the attacks police describe, so the case bears directly on how safe people feel in their communities. The search for a weapons supplier in Bawku suggests the investigation may reach beyond the men now in custody. The suspects have not been convicted, and the court will hear the matter again on 23 September.