A Circuit Court in Takoradi has remanded into prison custody two persons; Tanihu Azumah Donnick and Andrews Alimo Yorgakor, all aged 35, for attempting to traffic 47 Ghanaians to Conakry in Guinea by the high seas.
The two, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges. The accused persons together with the 47 were all in court when the case was called.
The Prosecutor, ASP Isaac Mensah Appenteng told the court, presided over by Ms. Rita Doku, that the two arrived in Ghana from Conakry about a month ago where they operate small-scale mining without a licence.
He explained that 47 Ghanaians between the ages of 18 and 58 years were successfully recruited by the accused persons to Guinea for their illegal mining expedition.
According to him, the 47 set sail in a canoe owned by the two accused persons on March 1, 2018, at about 3:30 pm, from the Akplabanya beach in Ada in the Greater Accra Region travelling by sea to Guinea.
They had on them 47 pieces of water hoses, 32 pieces of water pumps, seven bundles of blankets, 32 pieces of pipe mining equipment and 28 pieces of Chanfam engines.
The Marine Police in Takoradi upon intelligence picked from some community members at Nkotompo, near Sekondi moved to arrest them on the sea.
Marine Police Commander ACP Seidu Iddi indicated that the 47 Ghanaians were released while the two accused persons are still in custody.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi