62 illegal miners arrested in Ahafo region

The Ahafo Regional Police Command has arrested 62 suspected illegal miners at Kenyasi in the Asutifi North District.

The miners include 2 women and 60 men. The Regional Police Commander, DCOP Kwaku Buodu Peprah, who led the operation in a Citi News interview said the arrest follows a series of complaints from Newmont Ahafo Mines.

“The operation is about galamsey activities at Newmont, so following complaints from Newmont administration, we visited the place yesterday and we saw things for ourselves, so we decided to embark on an operation today [Saturday], so around 4:00am, we moved to the galamsey site and we were able to arrest about 62 people including two women.”

He said the men were arrested underground, while the women were arrested at the site carrying the load.

DCOP Kwaku Buodu Peprah said they will be put before the court on Monday.

Despite a clamp down on illegal mining activities that saw a ban on all forms of small scale mining which was lifted after a year, the activity is gradually returning across the country.