10 illegal miners arrested for mining in Oda River Forest Reserve

 Ten illegal miners including three foreign nationals have been arrested by officers of the Forest Services Division(Bekwai District), Forest­ry Commission for operating in the Oda River Forest Reserve.

The three-day exercise was undertaken by the district as part of the ongoing efforts by the Forestry Commission to clamp down on illegal mining in Forest Reserves across the country.

Speaking in an Interview with the Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday, the Executive Director of the Forest Services Division, Mr Hugh Brown stated that, the war on illegal mining within forest reserves continuous unabated.

“This war requires collabora­tive efforts from various stake­holders including our military, chiefs, police, judiciary, media, civil society and forest-fringe

 communities to effectively deal with this existential threat,” he said.

According to him, during the operation, two Toyota Hilux pickups with registration numbers 1265 A and GT 7366-12 and oth­er items being used by the illegal miners were seized.

In addition, ten excavators, nineteen fuel tanks, nine power plants, two chanfang machines, four motorbikes, five water pumping machines, one and seven wooden structures were demobilised.

Seven out the of the 10 suspects; Michael Korsah, Ba­sitShizu, AmaduMusah, Prince Boakye, Amedodzi Kofi, Akwasi­Adu and Shi Tiachaowho were arrested on December 6, 2023 were arraigned before the Bekwai Circuit Court the following day while thethree others namely, Bernard Sarkodie, Li Tauhai and Rao Shifa who were arrested on December 7, 2023 had already ap­peared before court and remand­ed into police custody.

Mr Hugh Brown stressed the need for collaborative and sus­tained efforts from various stake­holders including our military, chiefs, police, judiciary, media, civil society and forest-fringe communities to effectively deal with this existential threat. “This war must be won,” he empha­sised.

 BY RAISSA SAMBOU

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