Police arrest key suspect in Wapuli kidnapping case after weeks of surveillance

Police in the Northern Region say they have arrested a suspect they describe as a central player in a kidnapping ring linked to an abduction in Wapuli, after what investigators called weeks of sustained intelligence work.

The Northern Regional Police Intelligence Directorate (PID) said the latest arrest follows a case that began on 6 December 2025, when officers rescued a 42-year-old man who had been taken by the group.

Police say the victim suffered serious injuries while in captivity. Investigators also say the kidnappers demanded GH¢100,000 but collected GH¢90,000, of which officers later retrieved GH¢70,000.

The rescue operation in December led to the arrest of three suspects, with police maintaining that the gang operated as a four-member unit.

After the initial arrests, the PID said it broadened surveillance and intelligence-led operations across parts of the region to locate the outstanding suspect.

That effort, police say, resulted in the arrest of Hoyeefe Amadu in the early hours of Tuesday, 20 January 2026. Officers picked him up at about 1:30am from a village roughly 10 kilometres outside Watugu, a suburb of Gushegu, according to the police account.

In a statement confirming the arrest, Northern Regional Police spokesperson Chief Inspector Alhassan Luckman Niendow said the development reflects the police’s determination to bring all suspects to justice.

He added that the three previously arrested suspects have been remanded in prison custody and are expected to return to court, while investigations continue to dismantle the wider network.