The Suhum Police have intensified their search for a number of armed robbers who operate around Apeautu, Omanako and Niifio and robbed travelers of their money and belongings.

A Police source told the GNA that the armed robbers believed to have come from the surrounding areas, blocked the main Accra- Kumasi road with cement blocks at night.

Armed with AK 47 rifles, they stopped vehicles and robbed the passengers of their money, mobile phones and other belongings.

The source said a joint military-police patrol team later moved to the area and exchanged fire with the robbers who bolted into a bush living behind eight mobile phones and some other items believed to have been stolen.

Meanwhile the police have advised passengers to lie down during police and military encounters with armed robbers to avoid stray bullets hitting them.

n another development, a 15-day Defensive Driving Training course for 50 drivers of the National Ambulance Service (NAS) has began in Accra.

It is being organised by the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit of the Ghana Police Service (MTTU) as part of initiatives towards training and retraining corporate and commercial drivers in defensive driving to curb road crashes.

Addressing the opening session, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Angwubotoge Awuni, Commanding Officer of MTTU stated that the programme was crucial to strengthen collaborative efforts between the Unit and NAS in saving lives on the road during road crashes, saying “The course has come at the right time”.

He appealed to corporate bodies and other organisations to take advantage of the opportunity being offered by the MTTU to retrain their drivers.

ACP Awuni said to ensure more participation in the training programme, licenses of drivers whose vehicles were involved in road crashes would be seized until they were taken through a re-training programme to help reduce the number of unqualified drivers on the road.

Mr Tony Kwame Apeti, Deputy Director of Human Resource, NAS noted that the training would help the service with well trained drivers to assist in the provision of pre-hospital care to people, especially during road crashes.

He tasked participants to take the training seriously since the lives of patients and other people are dependent on them.

 “Remember that the ambulances you are driving are very expensive and you need to take care of them.”

Fifty drivers of the service throughout the country would be trained after the maiden course.

Source:GNA