Offor said that the gunboat used in replacing the sunken one was drawn from another division. He said the sunken gunboat had also been recovered from the Lagoon at Epe, adding that it was currently undergoing repair.

The spokesman said that security had been beefed up in all parts of the state, particularly on the waterways where suspected gunmen usually use to terrorise residents and banks.

“We have foiled many attempts by the gunmen to attack banks and individuals in Epe. It is one of their attempts again that they wanted to destabilise the Marine Police by attacking the General Purpose Machine Gunboat. We believe that they were planning to attack some places but we foiled it again,’’ Offor said.

The police spokesman said no life was lost in the incident, adding that no arrest had been made.