The Government’s anti-Galamsey taskforce, Operation Vanguard contends that the recent arrests of illegal miners are evidence of the effectiveness of the force.
The General Public has attributed the recent increase in arrests to the loss in the fight against the menace.
Over the weekend 85 illegal miners were apprehended in the Eastern Region alone.
In an interview with Citi News, Public Relations Officer for Operation Vanguard, Captain Andy Sowatey, said better practices had made their operations more effective.
“It is not necessarily that the fight is not being won. What is happening is that while we are trying to get these illegal miners, we are finding better ways of conducting our operations.”
“With the changes in the way we are conducting our operations, we are now able to get better results in terms of the arrests that we are getting.”
Meanwhile, Police in the Eastern Region, together with Operation Vanguard officials are currently looking into the activities of the 85 alleged illegal miners.
Those arrested included a Nigerien and an Ivorian with the 83 others being Ghanaians.
About 50 illegal miners were arrested from the same area in May, with some operating within the Atewa range.
The 50 suspects included 34 Ghanaians, 10 Chinese and six Nigerians.
Operation Vanguard is a Military Police Joint Task Force set up by the government in 2017 to combat the operations of illegal mining in Ghana.
