He has admitted that indeed he was the one in the viral video in which some police personnel were seen bowing down to some alleged ‘galamsey’ men in an apologetic manner.
In that trending video, the alleged galamsey men were seen in a heated confrontation with the police, and accused the men in black of taking bribe from the illegal miners and attempting to arrest them.
Prime Suspect Speaks
However, speaking from his hideout in a video that has gone viral, Kwame Ato Asare has denied the assertions by the police.
He noted that he has a cordial working relationship with the police in Axim, and that the residents can even testify to that, adding, “The Police are my people.”
“I have been a close ally of the Police Service in Axim for almost a year now,” he asserted.
He alleged that because he knows all illegal mining or galamsey sites in the area, the police have engaged him to periodically lead them to galamsey sites to ‘extort’ money from the illegal miners.
He mentioned that he has worked for senior police officers in Axim and recently handed over an amount of GH¢30,000 which he collected from some galamsey sites in the Axim enclave.
He, therefore, emphasised that he is not an armed robber as the police had suggested and has never engaged in any act of robbery.
‘Police Gave Me A Gun’
On the four pump action guns the police stated they retrieved from him, Kwame Ato Asare explained that one of the guns was given to him by a police officer to protect himself in the course of his ‘duties’.
He said the remaining three guns were those he and his ‘boys’ retrieved from some galamseyers in the area.
Touching on the circumstances leading to his fallout with the police as seen in the video in circulation, Kwame Asare explained that he received calls from the police in Axim about illegal mining activities in the area and the need for him to ensure they pay before they start.
He said the illegal miners made payment of an amount of GH¢100,000, but failed to deliver the money to the police after he felt cheated by the police in previous deals.
“The people in the town I live, all know that I work with the police. Police officers troop to my house at least five times in a day just to come and receive monies. Sometimes they don’t leave if they don’t see me. When I am even not around they wait for me. I give them money all the time.
“The actual reason the police are after me is that they sent me to collect one billion (GH¢100,000) from a site at Kwakukrom but I refused to hand over the money to them. That is the reason why they are angry with me,” he disclosed.
He said he did not give the money to the Axim Police because he once gave the police a huge sum of money collected from the galamsey sites and the police only gave him GH¢2,000, adding that “Even though the nature of the job the police has entrusted me and my boys is very dangerous.”
“I give the police GH¢30,000 almost every week and they will give me GH¢2,000. So I have decided to keep the GH¢100,000”.
“A District Officer pleaded that I should bring the money but I declined on grounds that they do not give me anything substantial anytime I give them huge cash collected from galamsey sites,” he alleged.
‘I Am Not A Robber’
The alleged suspect stated emphatically that he is not an armed robber.
“It is because of the one billion I took and failed to give to them that they are accusing me of being a robber. But I am not an armed robber, nobody can prove that I have ever robbed their site. Sarfo (Axim Police Commander) told me to bring the one billion before they will release my car and other machines which they have seized,” he said.
Police Statement
Meanwhile, the police have reacted to the viral video describing the alleged galamseyers as a gang that attacked the police and seized some weapons and mobile phones belonging to the police.
The police, in a statement, mentioned that four members of the gang have been arrested and that they are making efforts to arrest the prime suspect, Asare.
However, the statement issued by the police appears not supporting the story in the video, as a section of the public have accused the police of attempting to cover-up on the fact of the matter instead of interdicting the officers in the video.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi