About 49 suspected illegal miners have been arrested by the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), during a dawn operation at Adiewoso in the Ahanta West Municipality of the Western Region.
This followed what NAIMOS described as an armed ambush on its operatives by illegal mining syndicates.
According to the anti-galamsey task force, the operation, conducted in the early hours of Thursday, April 30, targeted illegal mining activities within the plantation of Ghana Rubber Estates Limited.
The Secretariat said the operation was launched after some of its personnel stationed in Nzema East came under gunfire from armed individuals engaged in illegal mining activities inside the GREL concession on Tuesday, April 28.
“The assailants discharged multiple rounds from pump action weapons at one of the taskforce’s Zonda pickup vehicles,” NAIMOS said in a statement, adding that its operatives were able to withdraw tactically without suffering casualties.
Following the attack, NAIMOS said it initiated an intelligence-led operation, which culminated in a cordon-and-search exercise between 3:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. at Adiewoso and surrounding communities.
A total of 114 individuals were initially apprehended and screened, with 49 subsequently identified as suspected illegal miners operating within the GREL plantation.
The Secretariat said eight of those screened were confirmed to be casual workers of GREL, while 12 were senior high school students. Others were identified as artisans and residents with no direct links to the illegal mining activities and were released.
NAIMOS disclosed that three of the arrested suspects were foreign nationals — Abdul Karim from Niger, and Nash Ishaku and Eliyasu Sie, both from Burkina Faso.
The operation also led to the recovery of one pump action firearm and the seizure of more than GH¢226,000 in cash suspected to be proceeds from illegal mining activities.
According to the Secretariat, officers retrieved GH¢140,000 from a Toyota Raize vehicle belonging to one suspect, while an additional GH¢86,710 and two containers of small ball-like substances suspected to be gold were recovered from a Toyota Hilux.
Quantities of substances suspected to be cannabis, along with cartons of cigarettes believed to be linked to the illegal mining operation, were also seized.
NAIMOS said officials from GREL management and the Agona Ahanta Police Command joined the operation to help distinguish legitimate plantation workers from suspected illegal miners.
“The Adiewoso operation reaffirms the resolve of NAIMOS to confront illegal mining in all its manifestations, particularly where it threatens lawful concessions, the livelihoods of legitimate workers, and the structural integrity of the nation’s productive land,” the statement said.
The 49 suspects have since been handed over to the Agona Divisional Police Command for further investigations.
