Seventy-three persons allegedly involved in illegal mining, have been arrested, in a swoop by the Upper East Regional Security Council (REGSEC), with support from the Ghana Police Service, in Tilly Forest Reserve, at a suburb of Zebilla, in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region.
The suspects comprise 27 Togolese, two Burkinabes, and 41 Ghanaians. Five women and three children were among the illegal miners, who were ravaging the Tilly Forest Reserve, a river and a tributary of the Red Volta, in search for gold.
Briefing journalists after the swoop, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Donatus Atanga Akamugri, said REGSEC and the police stormed the forest reserve upon a tip-off, and rounded up all the miners at 11 pm last Tuesday.
He said, his outfit had been informed of “galamsey” activities and, therefore, liaised with the Regional Police Command to embark on the operation.
Mr Akamugri said he suspected there was a network masterminding the illegal mining, and charged the police to properly screen the suspects to identify the real culprits.
According to him, the region was sitting on time bomb, as unscrupulous people decided to engage in illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, had wreaked havoc on water bodies, land, and even claimed human lives.
Mr Akamugri also cautioned that impact of the phenomenon was dire as it was going to pose distasteful health implications on the individuals in the affected areas and the entire region, “since the chemicals they are using pollute the water in no mean way”.
He noted that in spite of repeated efforts by successive governments, the issue of illegal mining has remained unresolved, and promised that the Mahama administration would do everything humanly possible to stem the menace.
FROM FRANCIS DABRE DABANG, TILLY
