A planned robbery targeting three banks in Labone, Accra, has been disrupted by the Ghana Police Service, with one suspect arrested and two others killed in a shootout with officers.
The operation followed intelligence received by the police that a robbery syndicate was preparing to attack GCB Bank, Ecobank and Zenith Bank, all located within the Labone area.
The police said the incident unfolded at about 10:45 a.m. on Thursday, August 13, 2026, when a response team was dispatched to the area to intercept the suspected criminals.
According to a statement issued by the service, officers spotted the suspects in two vehicles parked near the banks.
The suspects reportedly noticed the police presence, prompting one of the vehicles to immediately speed away from the area.
Officers pursued the vehicle and succeeded in arresting one of its occupants, identified as Augustine Okechuku Maazi. The second occupant managed to escape and remains at large.
The occupants of the other vehicle also attempted to evade arrest, but the situation quickly escalated when they opened fire at the pursuing officers.
The police responded, leading to a gun battle in which two of the suspected robbers were shot dead.
Following the operation, officers recovered the two vehicles allegedly used by the suspects. They were a Toyota Highlander with registration number GS-1434-18 and a Hyundai Tucson bearing registration number GS 7915-17.
A blow pistol was also retrieved from the scene.
Maazi remains in police custody and is assisting investigators as the service works to establish the full circumstances surrounding the planned attack and identify other members of the suspected robbery network.
The bodies of the two deceased suspects have been deposited at the morgue, where they will be preserved pending identification and autopsy.
The Ghana Police Service praised the response team for acting on the intelligence and preventing what could have been a major robbery operation involving three financial institutions.
The service also expressed appreciation to members of the public whose information helped authorities detect and respond to the suspected criminal activity.
The incident is expected to trigger further investigations into the robbery syndicate, including efforts to locate the suspect who escaped from the first vehicle and determine whether other individuals were involved in the planned attack.
