The Ghana Police Service has arrested twenty-six individuals in connection with illegal mining activities in a forest reserve near Samreboi in the Western Region.
The intelligence-led operation is part of an intensified national campaign against galamsey, the illegal mining scourge that has severely impacted Ghana’s environment and water bodies.
The operation was spearheaded by the Police Intelligence Directorate, in collaboration with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the National Operations Directorate (NOD), and the Formed Police Unit (FPU).
Acting on actionable intelligence, law enforcement personnel stormed the illegal site and apprehended eight Chinese nationals and eighteen Ghanaians allegedly operating within the protected forest reserve.
Authorities revealed that the targeted concession is linked to Akonta Mining Company, owned by Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.
His name has often surfaced in public discourse concerning illegal mining activities in Ghana.
Security forces recovered a range of tools and machinery, including: Six pump-action guns with over 150 rounds of 3AA cartridges, Six water pumping machines, Three excavators and three payloaders, Six machetes, Two Toyota pickup trucks and one Toyota RAV4. The arrested suspects remain in police custody and are expected to be put before court in the coming days.
