Nine suspected illegal miners have been arrested, and 23 changfans destroyed along the Ankobra River at Prestea Nakaba in the Western Region by the government’s anti-galamsey task force, Operation Halt.
The arrests were part of a larger operation involving over 100 soldiers deployed last week as part of the government’s renewed efforts to combat illegal mining, following increasing pressure from professional bodies and civil society organizations.
Illegal mining, or galamsey, has been responsible for widespread environmental destruction, particularly along Ghana’s rivers.
The task force’s operations have so far targeted illegal mining activities in key water bodies across the Eastern, Central, and Western Regions.
At Assin Assaman in the Assin Fosu district of the Central Region, along the River Pra, the task force destroyed 10 changfans (machines used to wash out gold-bearing soil), seven water pumps, and seized a locally manufactured single-barrel gun, a BB cartridge, and a set of tools used in illegal mining.
In Prestea Nakaba, where the nine suspected miners were arrested, the task force destroyed 33 grinding machines, 27 water pumps, 23 changfans, and three changfan boards, which had been used for mining on the Ankobra River.
Additionally, a motorbike found at the scene was burned.
The nationwide crackdown continues as the task force remains committed to halting the environmental damage caused by illegal mining and restoring Ghana’s natural resources.