Some of the suspects
The Ministry of National Security has stated that the 20 persons arrested at Akyem Akanteng in the West Akyem Municipality of the Eastern Region for alleged illegal mining activities, are not staff of the ministry.
A statement signed by Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said the so-called operatives were working for a contractor who has a contract with the ministry, and revealed that the said contractor has since been remanded in custody alongside the ‘operatives.’
According to the statement, “on May 4, 2021, the Eastern Regional Police Command obtained information that some youth of Akyem Akanteng in the West Akyem Municipality of the Eastern Region had arrested twenty (20) men claiming to be National Security operatives who had entered the Akanteng Forest Reserve to conduct illegal mining activities.”
The statement added that “preliminary investigations conducted by the National Intelligence Bureau revealed that the persons arrested are not staff or operatives of the Ministry of National Security.”
It said “the arrested persons named a contract staff of the ministry as the one who engaged them for the said activity,” adding that “upon completion of preliminary investigation, both the arrested persons and their said contractor have all been remanded and are due before court.”
The statement cautioned against the use of the authority of the National Security to perpetrate crime and said those found culpable will not be spared.
Akanteng Arrests
In less than ten days, in separate operations, the ER Police Command arrested 65 persons, some alleged to be National Security operatives engaging in illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, in the region.
The arrested persons were picked up from illegal mining sites, with some of them in military and police fatigues at the time of their arrests.
Police Reaction
The Asamankese Divisional Police Commander, ACP Kankam Boadu, confirmed that they had intelligence that some National Security personnel had been accosted at the Akyem Akanteng chief’s palace in the Lower West Akim Municipality.
“We rushed there and they handed over to us the men who claim to be National Security personnel and three illegal miners. Our interim investigation indicates that the National Security personnel came there to mine for gold that is why the town’s folks arrested them. We rearrested them and sent them to the Regional Police Command to continue with their investigation,” he said.
Kwabena Adu-Bonnah, an official from the Forestry Commission (FC), also confirmed the arrests saying “last week, we arrested some and this week we arrested a total of 28 from some galamsey sites in the region. They have all been handed over to the police for further action.”
19 Suspects
He said that 19 persons who claimed to be National Security operatives were apprehended by the police for illegally mining gold in the Atewa Forest Reserve on Tuesday.
The suspects, who were wearing military uniforms, invaded the reserve from Akyem-Akanteng onboard a Toyota Land Cruiser V8 with sophisticated rifles on Tuesday dawn under the guise of clamping down on illegal mining.
They reportedly clashed with angry residents and forest guards who had vowed to resist illegal miners.
In the ensuing melee, the residents reportedly deflated the tires of the five vehicles they used for the operation and also vandalised some of them.
The damaged vehicles included a Tundra with registration number NR 9706-20, Toyota Hilux with registration number GT 9683-14 and Nissan Patrol with registration number GW 1966-12 and two other unregistered land cruisers.
By Melvin Tarlue