A notorious Kumasi-based armed robber known as '2PM' has recounted the events that led to the arrest of celebrated senior police officer, COP Kofi Boakye, years ago. Speaking on Kingdom Plus FM and monitored by GhanaWeb, he stated that he became so accustomed to thievery after being exposed to it at the age of 14 in Nigeria. According to him, he had reinforced himself and gained so much knowledge in the handling of various sorts of ammunition that he returned to Ghana and made a notorious name for himself. 2PM claimed that he had gone on a binge one day, robbed six different installations and felt on top of the world.
He explained how he outwitted some security personnel and stole money from a prepaid firm on a night when Kumasi Asante Kotoko was playing a key football match.
"I was in front of a certain bank in Abuakwa - I was breaking into a prepaid firm in Abuakwa to steal their money. Around 7 p.m., there were few security guards stationed nearby. Kotoko was playing a match at the moment, so I went to stand by them and pretended to enjoy the game with them until their attention was no longer on me, and then I went in to steal the money.
"Earlier that day, I had gone to steal from a church, and then to three more banks and then a Ghana prepaid company, as well as two other companies, totalling six operations. "It was that evening when Kofi Boakye promised to arrest me," he explained.
Continuing his story, 2PM informed the radio presenter that, unbeknownst to him, the police chief, COP Kofi Boakye, and his men had been dispatched into his town to apprehend him that evening. He stated he generally got tip-offs on when the cops were coming since he had solid friends in the service, but Kofi Boakye played a better move on him that evening by utilizing a brand different team of cops.
"Therefore, that evening, as I was travelling around on my operations, Kofi Boakye was also on the move. He was a high-ranking police officer, but he was also out in the field with his boys. One thing he did that I still admire him for is that he did not send the same crew that he went on the mission with to come and arrest me.
"He purposefully asked a separate team and gang to come after me so that I wouldn't be aware of their movements… they really messed with me. Kofi Boakye was not kind to me at all. You may ask those who were in his office that day: I was in a lot of trouble," he added.
Before his arrest in Abuakwa, 2PM stated that he made a move to go after them instead because he was confident that all the officers who could come after him were guys he actually had in his pockets.
Without realizing it, Kofi Boakye had spread his men - both uniformed and ununiformed - across the town, each one methodically hunting for him.
Believing he could easily deceive them, he stated that the last thing he expected to see was a high-ranking officer like him leading the search for him, and when they did arrest him, he was unaware.
"I was arrested at Abuakwa (sic) but with my arrest, what happened was that they sent some men there and then the person who looks out for me phoned me to alert me about it. That was when I asked to myself that who are these small policemen who neglected to call me when they were coming? That's how arrogant I was as well.
"Unknown to me, it was the chief himself who was coming, and so I determined to seek revenge on the policemen. I was high on cocaine and tramadol on my way there, expecting to face them. So I even moved someone's car parked on the side of the road.
As I returned, I arrived to park the stranger's car and decided to outwit them by jumping into a passenger car, not realizing that the car was full of cops.
“So, just when I was about to alight in front of my house to get money and return to Accra, not knowing they had surrounded the whole town. When I got down, it was like a war front… I then used a certain corner, hoping it would be my way out but then a non-uniformed policeman grabbed me at my waist. I asked him why he has grabbed me and then he told me that I was the one they were looking for.
"Immediately, I head-butted him and then he went to the ground and started bleeding. I found myself in front of Kofi Boakye before I realized it. I was in a car, standing in front of Kofi Boakye, in virtually a split second. 'You are the 2PM, eh?' he asked, looking at me. "I'm about to beat you today," he explained.
COP Kofi Boakye has been recognized multiple times for being a police officer with a penchant for keeping criminals on their toes, particularly in Ghana's Ashanti Region.
