Malian Land Guard Arrested

Police on Saturday arrested and detained Ageima, a Malian, 48, believed to be a member of a group of landguards recruited from Nima in Accra, and operating at Ingleshie Amanfrom, near Kasoa. Abukari Mohammed, 40, also a Malian, who struggled with policemen and tried to prevent them from arresting his compatriot, was also arrested. Meanwhile the police have mounted a search for Ahmed and Aminu, two leading members of the group. According to the Ghana News Agency, Ageima was said to be moulding blocks in the area as a cover, to maintain 24-hour surveillance on the land and to serve as informant for Ahmed and Aminu about activities in the area. A source said the two leaders had allegedly re-demarcated plots of land already sold out to developers and resold them to new buyers using fake documents and fake signatures of some chiefs and land owners in the area who had died many years ago. According to the police the land guards issued death threats to many genuine land purchasers, harassed and sometimes brutalised their workers to prevent them from developing their plots.