Police in the Eastern Region have arrested six people, including a Chinese national, for allegedly possessing firearms and ammunition without authority in the lead-up to the Akwatia by-election.
The suspects, arrested at different locations on Friday and Saturday, were named as Enoch Asiedu, 32; Lu Youyan, 58; Stephen Nkansah, 36; Peterson Joseph, 42; Bernard Kumi Ofosu, 33; and Joshua Amenuku.
According to police, pump-action guns as well as AAA and BB cartridges were retrieved during the operations.
The arrests followed a meeting between senior officers and representatives of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) to discuss measures for a peaceful vote on 2 September.
A highly placed police source told the Daily Graphic that at about 9 p.m. on Friday, officers on patrol arrested Asiedu and Lu after intercepting their Toyota Hilux pickup at a snap checkpoint at Boadua Livingstone.
“When the pickup truck was searched, the exhibits were retrieved, and during interrogation at the Akwatia Police Station charge office, Asiedu stated that the exhibits belonged to their boss, one Mohammed, owner of the Toyota Hilux pickup truck,” the source said.
Police added, “Efforts are being made to trace suspect Mohammed for questioning. The suspects are in custody assisting with the investigation.”
Earlier the same day, officers arrested Ofosu near St Dominic Hospital in Akwatia with one Adler Tulpar double-barrelled pump-action gun, five AAA live cartridges and two FTB blank cartridges. “The suspect was interrogated, and he admitted ownership of the exhibits and produced licence number 14/1179006, marked AAAJ/1990/2025-Adler Tulpar 24SA-12262, dated 30/01/2025, for the firearm,” police said.
Later that night, Amenuku was picked up at Akwatia Y-Junction with 15 live BB cartridges. “The suspect was escorted to his house at Akwatia, and when a search was conducted in his room, one Adler Tulpar pump-action gun and five BB live cartridges were retrieved,” a police source said. He was able to produce a licence covering the gun, but the case remains under investigation.
On Saturday afternoon, police at a snap checkpoint at Staff Village Boadua detained Nkansah after finding three pump-action guns in a Toyota Tundra pickup carrying mourners to a funeral. He claimed ownership of two of the weapons and said the third belonged to his chief. Police said he was being held to assist with investigations.
That same day, Joseph was arrested at Boadua Livingstone Junction, where a search of his car uncovered an Adler Tulpar pump-action gun and 46 AAA and BB cartridges. “He subsequently produced a licence with file No. EPK/2381/2025 dated 21/03/2025, covering the gun. The case is under investigation,” police said.
The Akwatia by-election is scheduled for 2 September following the death of Ernest Yaw Kumi, the NPP MP who won the seat just six months ago. Kumi had secured 19,269 votes against 17,206 for the NDC’s Henry Boakye Yiadom.
The NPP is fielding 40-year-old small-scale miner Solomon Kwame Asumadu, while the NDC has put forward lawyer Bernard Bediako.
