The Rapid Response Unit of the Forestry Commission in the Juaboso District of the Western North Region has arrested ten individuals, including two police officers, in connection with illegal mining activities.
Among those apprehended are four Chinese nationals (Men Shi Yu, Wen Yong Cheng, Wen Fu Lin, and Lee Pin), and four Ghanaian collaborators (Edward Owusu, Kwesi Frank, Abudu Dramani, and Joe Naburi). The two police officers, Detective Sergeant Yahaya Andrews and Lance Corporal Azantillow, were believed to be providing protection at the mining site within the forest reserve.
Detective Sergeant Yahaya Andrews claimed during interrogation that Chief Inspector Adusei Negga had ordered them to patrol the Kokosua Forest Reserve near Asempaneye, where they are stationed.
The joint operation conducted on Tuesday, December 12, involved the Rapid Response Unit and the District Forest Management of Juaboso. As part of the operation, ten excavators used by the illegal miners were burned.
The Krokosua Forest Reserve has been facing significant threats from illegal mining activities, leading to recent efforts by the Forestry Commission to eradicate such activities in forest reserves nationwide.
On November 29, 2023, the Rapid Response Unit of the Forestry Commission carried out a comparable operation in the Anwiaso East Forest Reserve, situated at Manse near Diaso in the Bibiani Forest District of the Western North Region. This targeted initiative aimed to eradicate illegal miners who had infiltrated the reserve with heavy machinery, causing damage to the forest cover and polluting water bodies.
Ten individuals engaged in illegal mining were apprehended during this operation. The team took action by destroying two excavators and two heavy-duty electrical plants discovered at the unauthorized mining site. Subsequently, the suspects were handed over to the Dunkwa Police.
Samuel Darko-Akonor, the Coordinator of the Rapid Response Unit at the Forestry Commission Headquarters, issued a stern warning to those involved in mining activities within forest reserves, urging them to cease such criminal actions.