Chief, 9 Others Busted For Galamsey In Western North

The Chief of Manse, Nana Kwame Sobre II and nine illegal miners in the Western North Region have been arrested for engaging in illegal mining in the Manse portion of the Anhwiaso East Forest Reserve, near Diaso in the Bibiani Forest District.

This was reported by the Forestry Commission on Saturday, December 2, 2023.

They were arrested on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, at dawn by personnel of the Forestry Commission’s Rapid Response Unit (RRU) during a swoop in the forest reserve.

The remaining nine who are said to have been recruited by the chief have been identified as Osman Shaibu; Nana Kwasi; Desmond Nkrumah; Abraham Donkor; Frank Mensah; Richard Kurofie; Patrick Ayambila; Abdul Salam and Rasad Nuoeeikaa.

All the suspects are now in the custody of the Dunkwa Police Station for onward transfer to the appropriate Police jurisdiction in the Western North Region to face the law.

Meanwhile, two excavators and two heavy-duty generator plants found at the illegal mining site were immobilized by the task force.

The Commission explained, “The operation was coordinated by the Forest Services Division Headquarters and the Rapid Response Unit. The swoop was carried out to flush out illegal miners who had entered the Reserve with heavy machinery and had destroyed the forest cover and polluted water bodies through their illegal mining operations. These illegal acts are alleged to be backed by some top political actors and traditional authorities in the region.”