Police in Esiama, Western Region, foiled a robbery attempt on the Esiama branch of Ecobank when they responded to a distress call on Saturday morning, 13 February 2021.

The police was given a tipoff that robbers numbering five had attacked the bank.

A team, therefore, proceeded to the scene.

The robbers opened fire on the law officers.

The police returned fire and the robbers fled into a nearby bush.

The police rescued a private security man of the bank and another who was on duty at an adjacent office of the Electricity Company of Ghana.

Their hands and legs had been tied behind with ropes.

The police picked one AK 47 assault rifle with a tampered with serial number and 28 rounds of live ammunition from the direction of the bush where the robbers fled.

Other items retrieved include an industrial cutter, crowbar, screwdrivers, damaged padlocks and four BB spent shells.

The police observed, among others, that the armed robbers damaged the burglar proof and the glass door leading to the banking hall.

Although the robbers had access to the banking hall, they did not succeed in their operation due to the intervention of the police.

A search has been mounted for the suspects.

The police also urged residents of Esiama and surrounding villages to report suspicious characters to them – especially those who present gunshot wounds to hospitals, clinics and herbalists, for treatment.