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More than 1,000 unauthorised structures in a slum near the Adenta Redco Flats were Sunday demolished to rid the area of suspected criminals.
The operation was carried out by the police in collaboration with the La Nkwantanan Madina Municipal Assembly.
The 10-hour exercise was undertaken by 100 policemen drawn from various formations within the Accra Regional Police Command.
The place is said to house between 4,000 and 5,000 persons including Ghanaians, Nigerians, Ivoirians and other foreign nationals.
Criminal den
Speaking to Graphic Online during the operation which started at about 3am on Sunday the Operations Unit Commander, Chief Superintendent of Police, Mr Kwesi Ofori said the area served as a hideout for suspected criminals.
He said the area had, therefore, been under police watch for some time.
“The place serves as a home for mostly drug peddlers, commercial sex workers and suspected criminals and they have been a threat to residents in the surrounding communities and beyond,” he said.
In collaboration with the municipal assembly, he said it was agreed that the best way to fight crime in the area would be to clear all the squatters.
He said the policemen who were deployed for the operation would also continue to be on the ground to provide security while they patrol the area.
Grace period
Officials of the municipal assembly explained that the squatters were given a month’s notice to vacate the area or face ejection.
During the one month grace period the municipal assembly carried out public education in the area to sensitize the residents on the need for them to relocate voluntarily.
During the exercise there was no resistance on the part of the residents as some were seen packing their personal effects into tricycles and trucks while others removed their wooden structures.
Those with containers also removed them and cart them away on trucks.
Source: Graphic.com.gh
