[ 2017-01-27 ]

29 foreigners arrested for illegal mining at Atiwa
Some 29 foreign nationals are in the grips of the
Eastern Regional Rapid Response team of the
Forestry Commission, for invading the Atiwa Rain
Forest reserve and mining illegally.

The suspects, who are believed to be from Togo
and other neighboring countries, are said to have
been operating in the Atiwa Rain Forest Reserve
for about two months using sophisticated machines
to detect the presence of gold and mining them
illegally mining it.

They were arrested on Thursday [January 26] for
the illegal activity that has destroyed the forest
reserve.

The Eastern Regional Manager of the Forestry
Commission, Attah Owusu , said they received
information about the illegal activity and quickly
mobilized a joint force including military and
police personnel to clamp down on the operations.

“…Because of the potential of having
minerals, we have some ancient trenches that
people search for gold from. We had information
that some other nationals, have made incursions
into some portions of the reserve. We got the
information and mobilized a rapid response team
comprising soldiers, policemen and forestry
officers. Yesterday [Thursday] at dawn, we were
able to round up some people and from their
accent, you can tell they are from Togo and other
neighboring countries like Burkina Faso and
Mali.”

Confirming the incident to Citi News, the Public
Relations Officer for the Ghana Police Service in
the Eastern Region, ASP Nketiah-Yeboah, alleged
that the foreigners had connived with some locals
to carry out the illegal act.

Ghana has failed to effectively deal with illegal
mining among locals, as well as among foreign
nationals such as the Chinese, who are often
arrested, and later left off the hook.

Source - citifmonline.com

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