20 ‘galamsey’ operators arrested in the Western and Ashanti Regions

• Posted on July 10, 2018
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

Twenty illegal miners have been arrested in the Western and Ashanti Regions by the operation vanguard team with their mining equipment confiscated.

18 Ghanaians, along with two Togolese nationals, were arrested after the Vanguard team conducted operations at illegal mining sites at Asankragua in the Amenfi West District, and along the River Ankobra in the Prestea Huni-Valley District of the Western Region.

The Public Relations officer of the anti-galamsey task-force, Captain Nathaniel Asamoah, said on their series of patrol, arrests were made at three different communities in the Amanse Central District of the Ashanti Region.

“Over the past weeks, we conducted several land patrol, items that were immobilized includes one excavator, sixteen generator sets, six pumping machines, three dynamite sticks, fuse and three excavator filters were seized,” he said.

Last month, the Joint Task Force of Operation Vanguard arrested 4 Chinese nationals and 5 Ghanaians engaged in illegal small-scale mining in two separate operations on the 19th and 20th June at Prestea/Huni Valley and Upper Denkyira West Districts of the Western Region.

Three of the Chinese were arrested together with 5 Ghanaian collaborators in their first operation at an illegal mining site at Ensasi in the Prestea/Huni Valley District.

In May, Twenty illegal miners, comprising 17 Ghanaians and three foreigners, were arrested by Operation Vanguard in the Upper Denkyira West District of the Central Region.

The ‘galamsey’ operators were arrested in two villages; Adeade and Asuawde. They were mining along the Offin River.

The foreigners were an 18-year-old Chinese national, Wu Cheng, and two Togolese namely Larry Nana and Kombate Yarik.

The Minister of the Interior, Ambrose Dery, has also called on all state institutions and other security agencies to complement the efforts of the government’s anti-galamsey task force, Operation Vanguard to help fight recalcitrant illegal miners.

He said the various local assemblies must also support the security agencies stop the illegality

Source: Citinewsroom.com