The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has arrested eight suspected illegal miners, including a Chinese national, during an intelligence-led operation at Oseikokrom in the Amansie West District of the Ashanti Region.
The operation, carried out on Thursday, May 21, 2026, forms part of intensified nationwide efforts by the anti-galamsey task force to clamp down on illegal mining activities that continue to threaten forests, cocoa farms, water bodies, and road infrastructure across the country.
According to NAIMOS, the raid was carefully planned following intelligence gathered on ongoing illegal mining operations in the area.
Officials said the suspects attempted to escape upon noticing the arrival of the task force, but were eventually intercepted and arrested at the site.
The suspects include 38-year-old Chinese national Huang Weiye and seven Ghanaians identified as Augustine Manu, Kwame Ntoadro, Moses Alou, Alex Lenley, Yaw Owusu, Shaibu Wuni, and Patrick Bampoa.
Security personnel also impounded two Toyota Hilux pickup vehicles with registration numbers GX 555-24 and CN 5168-26, which were allegedly being used in the illegal mining activities.
Further inspections at the mining site revealed the presence of two excavators actively engaged in the operation.
NAIMOS said one of the machines was seized and transported to its logistics holding facility in Kumasi.
The second excavator, however, could not be moved because it had an active tracking system that prevented relocation.
Task force members subsequently disabled the machine on-site by removing its monitor and control board.
In addition to the heavy-duty equipment, officers recovered a pump-action gun believed to have been kept at the site.
Several temporary wooden structures reportedly used as shelters and hideouts by the miners were also destroyed and set ablaze during the exercise.
NAIMOS disclosed that the Chinese suspect has been transferred to the Secretariat’s headquarters for further investigations before being handed over to the Ghana Immigration Service for the necessary immigration processes.
The seven Ghanaian suspects have meanwhile been handed over to the Antoakrom Police Station to assist with investigations and possible prosecution.
Director of Operations at NAIMOS, Colonel Dominic Buah, indicated that the Secretariat would continue to intensify targeted operations in illegal mining hotspots across the country.
He noted that the latest strategy being adopted by the task force is beginning to disrupt well-established illegal mining networks that have contributed significantly to environmental degradation in many communities.
According to him, unchecked galamsey activities continue to destroy farmlands, forest reserves, and major road networks while also heavily polluting rivers and other water bodies relied upon by residents for domestic use.
By 1960news.com
