Toll booth attendants and hawkers who operate on the Tema-Accra stretch of the motorway are hoping the recent robbery at the toll booth will prompt an improved security in the area.
Activity around the toll booths is back to normal, but Citi News checks there indicate that even after the attack, the particular toll booth that was robbed has only one policeman providing security.
[contextly_sidebar id=”v36zs2294fpY146OeBfclZNHzKGCayqN”]Robbers on motorbikes attacked one of the toll booths on the stretch, making away with some GHc 45,000 last Sunday, November 5.
Reports say the armed robbers stormed the tollbooth at the Tema end of the motorway at about 9:30pm, and made away with the amount, which is believed to be the entire revenue collected between Friday and Sunday.
A police officer and a supervisor at the toll booth, have since been arrested in connection with the robbery, but lack of swift response from the police is bothering some of the hawkers.
“We usually sell till it is 9:00pm, so it was very shocking that they came at a time there were a lot of people around. There is the need for the presence of a lot of police and soldiers,” one of the hawkers said to Citi News.
Police aware of security situation
Another hawker highlighted the concerns that the traders and hawkers have suffered the brunt of criminal activity for a while now, something the police was aware.
“We need preventive security measures here. When we leave the things we sell here, they are stolen. When we place them at a point police can guard them, they are stolen. So the police actually know there is a lot of robbery and theft here.”
The toll booth in question is located close to Ashaiman, which is noted to have relatively high criminal activity.
There are also some unauthorized structures on the shoulders of the motorway, whose inhabitants are suspected to be behind the criminal activity.
When Citi News spoke to the Tema Regional Police, its Public Relations Officer, ASP Joseph Darkwa, said Police had intensified security following the incident.
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By: Elvis Washington/citifmonline.com/Ghana