Bono Regional Security Taskforce on illegal mining on Thursday set ablaze an illegal mining site at Sadik-Akuraa, near Banda-Ahenkro in the Banda District of the Region.
The task force led by Justina Owusu-Banahene, Bono Regional Minister arrested a 27-year-old illegal miner at the site and handed him over to the Police at Banda-Ahenkro.
His other accomplices managed to escape when they sighted the task force, but luck eluded Kingsley Acheampong, who was seriously mining in one of the holes that had been dug by the miners at the site near a river in the area.
Acheampong however, pleaded with the task force to spare his life, saying illegal mining activity was the only source of economic livelihood for him, his wife, and two children.
The Ghana News Agency (GNA) sighted about 20 holes where the miners’ prospect for gold and some tents mounted at the site, but the task force razed the tents to the ground and burnt them.
They also seized some small-scale mining tools, equipment, and implements.
Ms Owusu-Banahene later told newsmen because illegal miners had failed to heed government warnings, the task force would do everything possible to bring their nation-wrecking activities under control.
She directed the Municipal and District Assemblies in the region to collaborate with traditional authorities and all stakeholders and devise strategies to clamp down on the illegal miners.
The Regional Minister noted the fight against illegal mining, lumbering, and illicit drugs could not be successful without the support of the Police and the judiciary and entreated them to facilitate prosecution of suspects to serve as a deterrent to like-minded others.
Ms. Owusu-Banahene commended the task force and security operatives in the region for their selfless and dedicated services to the nation and expressed the hope that they would not relax in the nationwide fight against illegal mining, logging, and lumbering.
GNA