A joint military and police anti-illegal mining task force led by the Bono Regional Minister, Joseph Addae Akwaboa, has shut down a notorious galamsey settlement known as ‘Operator’ at Sugbukrom, in the Banda District.
The operation lasted for more than ten hours where security forces seized mining equipment, demolished and burnt structures housing over 2,000 illegal miners and also arrested some suspects.
The crackdown led by the Bono Regional Minister, Joseph Addae Akwaboa, with over 100 security personnel comprising the 3rd Infantry Battalion of the Ghana Armed forces and Ghana Police service, stormed ‘Operator’, destroying illegal mining sites and confiscating equipment.
During the operation, authorities seized 11 excavators, 16 motorbikes, and several motorbikes from the miners. Numerous changfang machines were also destroyed along the Tain River in a bid to halt the ongoing environmental destruction caused by illegal mining.
Mr. Akwaboa emphasized that the crackdown is part of a broader effort to protect the region’s lands and water bodies from further destruction.
“We will not relent in this fight. A detailed report will be submitted to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, and once approved, reclamation of degraded lands will begin under strict guidelines,” he stated.
Bono Regional Minister Joseph Addae Akwaboa, who sanctioned the operation, said the effort would not be a one-off intervention but part of a weekly campaign to sustain the crackdown on illegal mining.
Credit: ONUAONLINE