A 26-year-old man is in police custody following an alleged attempt to drive away a Ghana Police Service armoured vehicle in broad daylight at Nkawie Market in the Ashanti Region.
The suspect, Ebenezer Frimpong, is said to have acted during a brief security gap when the vehicle’s driver stepped out to purchase medication, leaving the engine running.
Per a police situational report, the incident happened around 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 15, 2026. At the time, Lance Corporal Joshua Denkyi of the Formed Police Unit was transporting the armoured vehicle from Nkawie to the Ashanti Regional Police Workshop in Kumasi for servicing.
Investigators say the officer stopped briefly near the Nkawie Market and left the vehicle unattended while he went into a nearby pharmacy. In that moment, Frimpong allegedly entered the armoured vehicle and sped off, leaving both the officer and onlookers stunned.
The disappearance triggered an immediate regional alert, prompting the deployment of a SWAT team to locate and recover the vehicle.
The chase stretched along the Nkawie–Abuakwa route and ended roughly 30 minutes later at Mim, near Abuakwa in the Kumasi enclave, where the suspect was arrested. The operation was led by Inspector Benjamin Nartey and involved seven tactical officers.
Police have since recovered the armoured vehicle and secured it as evidence.
Frimpong remains in custody at the Abuakwa District Police Command and has been transferred to the Ashanti Regional Criminal Investigations Department for further questioning.
