The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) taskforce has arrested three Chinese nationals and one Ghanaian during an intelligence-led operation at an illegal mining site at Adum Banso K9 in the Mpohor District of the Western Region.
The operation, carried out at about 11:20 a.m. on Monday, February 9, followed weeks of surveillance and intelligence gathering on the site.
According to NAIMOS, the suspects attempted to flee upon detecting the presence of the taskforce but were swiftly intercepted and arrested.
The suspects were apprehended in two vehicles — a Mitsubishi pickup truck with registration number GT 3850-13 and a Toyota Highlander with registration number GS 572-25 — both of which have since been seized.
A subsequent inspection of the site revealed tracks indicating that two excavators had been hurriedly moved and concealed in nearby bushes prior to the arrival of the taskforce.
To prevent their continued use for illegal mining activities, the taskforce immobilized the machines. Due to the unavailability of lowbed trucks, officers removed the excavators’ control boards and oil pumps to render them inoperative.
In addition to the vehicles, the taskforce destroyed various equipment and materials used by the illegal miners in carrying out their activities at the site.
The three Chinese nationals, together with the seized vehicles, have been conveyed to NAIMOS Headquarters for further investigations and are expected to be handed over to the Ghana Immigration Service for the necessary immigration processes.
The Ghanaian suspect, identified as Isaac Armah and believed to be the site foreman, has been handed over to the Mpohor Police Station to assist with investigations and prosecution.
Speaking after the operation, the Director of Operations at NAIMOS, Colonel Dominic Buah, said the Secretariat would continue to intensify targeted and intelligence-driven operations in known galamsey hotspots across the country, despite operational challenges such as inadequate patrol vehicles, lowbed trucks, and drones.
Colonel Buah noted that the sustained enforcement efforts and other strategies being implemented by NAIMOS are significantly disrupting entrenched illegal mining networks that continue to destroy cocoa farms, forest reserves, and road infrastructure, while also polluting the nation’s water bodies.
