Police disclose the weapons recovered from alleged land guards murdered in a shootout at Bortianor, including an AK-47, a pump action rifle, and handguns

Five people died in a shooting confrontation with alleged land guards in Bortianor, Greater Accra Region, according to the Ghana Police Service.

According to earlier media accounts, on June 9, 2023, police from the Police Anti-Robbery Unit shot and killed nine alleged land guards. The number of fatalities was later updated to five by the Ghana Police Service in a statement released on Saturday, June 10, 2023.

“On June 8, 2023, the police carried out an operation against criminal groups that were engaged in robbery and land guard crimes. In Bortianor and adjacent areas, these people have been terrorising locals and landowners, according to the statement.

The suspects opened fire from their hiding place when they saw the police squad coming, which caused the cops to retaliate. Five of the suspects were hurt as a consequence, and five of them were subsequently determined to be dead at the hospital. The other suspects left the scene and are now at large.

The police claim that they were able to seize several weapons from the accused, including firearms and ammo, to use as evidence.

According to the police report, evidence found at the crime scene included an AK-47 assault rifle, ten (10) rounds of AK-47 ammunition, a pump-action gun with nine (9) BB cartridges, two (2) pistols with ten (10) rounds of 9mm ammunition, one (1) unregistered Toyota Tacoma pickup, four (4) motorbikes, three (3) of which are unregistered, a knife, and pepper spray.

The police emphasised that all of the suspects, including those who were hurt in the gunfight, are being vigorously sought for. They made a plea to the general public, in particular the Bortianor community’s residents, to report anyone who have been shot as soon as possible so that the police can act right away.