OPERATIVES OF the National Security have reportedly gone to the office of the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, John Peter Amewu, to remove audio/visual recording devices which were secretly installed at the office.
It is unclear who planted the device, but it is turning out that it had been done in order to record the minister’s activities.
The minister has been waging a relentless war on illegal and irresponsible mining activities popularly called galamsey, and many are linking the recent secret recording incidence to the clampdown.
A security expert with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping and Training Centre (KAIPTC), Kwasi Anning, said the ‘bugs’ found in the lands minister’s office are the tip of the iceberg.
Dr Anning noted, “I think if we were to sweep every government ministry ….we will see a lot of these ‘bugs.”
Sources say the devices were secretly planted in a plaque bearing the Coat of Arms of Ghana which had been hanged at a corner in the office of the minister.
They are said to be very powerful, with an inbuilt camera, storage unit and another device believed to be a transmitter.
According to sources, the ‘highly’ sensitive device can pick a whisper about 35 feet away, had been neatly put in a black metal box and uses batteries.
The supposed secret recording gadget had been reportedly discovered during a screening exercise known in security parlance as ‘sweeping of the office.’
This paper learned that National Security operatives suspected the ‘bug’ when they embarked on a routine screening exercise at the ministry late last month.
The minister confirmed the incident to Joy FM yesterday when he
said operatives of the National Security conducted a thorough search and made away with hard drives, camera and other recording devices planted in the office.
“It’s quite surprising. The device was discovered during a screening process and it is quite surprising such a device could be planted in my office. The offices of the ministers are expected to be screened from time to time as part of security arrangements, and it was during one of such exercises that this was found,” he disclosed.
“The kind of jobs we do, regarding security concerns, we have to do some of these things occasionally but I would not know who planted it there,” Mr Peter Amewu stated.
According to him, he suspected somebody was trying to be mischievous or playing smart, adding, “The office is a public one and others have access to it.
“I am not worried about whatever information has gone out because it is a public office. We are however, trying to put the necessary security appliances in place to check a similar thing in the future. It is possible it was there before I came to the office.
“The National Security operatives have done a swoop to confirm that there are no secretly planted devices in my office again. They have already commenced investigations into it.”
According to Mr Amewu, “The fight against illegal mining is a presidential directive. The president gave this directive that we must keep the environment. And I am not doing this alone. I am doing it with other sectoral ministers so it is a caution that we should be extra careful.”
By Daniel Bampoe