Crime

3 illegal sand winners, soldier arrested at Ningo-Lekpongunor

 Three suspected illegal sand miners, and a sol­dier have been arrested at Bernganor, a suburb of Lek­pongunor in the Ningo-Pram­pram District of the Greater Accra Region, for allegedly en­gaging in sand mining without a permit.

The police effected the arrest following a tip-off about the illegal activity on a land belonging to Seamless Interna­tional Limited/Comet Properties Limited.

The suspects were appre­hended while operating at the site.

The soldier, who was in mili­tary uniform, was allegedly hired by the illegal sand contractors to provide protection for their activities.

They were arraigned before the court at Gbetsile in the Kpone-Katamanso District on Friday, charged with causing unlawful damage and mining without a license.

Madam Akua Afriyie, spokes­person for Seamless International Limited/Comet Properties Lim­ited, expressed concern over the environmental destruction caused by the illegal sand miners, stating that it posed a serious threat to  their beachfront and residential projects.

She revealed that the sand-mining activities had caused excavation to depths of 10 to 20 feet across 21 acres of the land, adding that the damage to the land could cost about GH₵55 million to reclaim.

Madam Afriyie warned of the potential for severe erosion and long-term environmental degra­dation which could compro­mise the 400-acre development project and other projects along the seafront.

She called on the Envi­ronmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to step in to put an end to such illegal sand-winning activities in order to prevent further destruction. —GNA

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