The suspects
Four Nigerians have been arrested at Wasipe in the Bole District of the Northern Region in a joint operation dubbed, ‘Operation Koudanlgou II.
Security agents from Burkina Faso, La Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana took part in the operation.
The four Nigerians, who are siblings, were arrested by the team when a sack containing dried leaves suspected to be marijuana and some illicit drugs was found in their possession.
The suspects include three women and a male in their 20s; their names were not immediately known.
According to the male suspect, he moved from Imo State in Nigeria to Ghana with his siblings to visit their mother who lives at Wasipe.
He, however, denied ownership of the illicit drugs, indicating that a friend brought them to him at his shop but he was ignorant of the content of the sack.
However, the suspects were sent to the Bole Police Station for further investigations.
When DAILY GUIDE visited Wasipe, the Operation Koudanlgou II team had already destroyed many makeshift structures occupied by illegal miners believed to be engaged in ‘galamsey.’
The team arrested some of them.
One Mr. Mohammed, a ‘galamsey’ operator, told DAILY GUIDE that the team took them by surprise.
According to him, most of the ‘galamsey’ operators have lost expensive machines they purchased for the operations.
He, however, stated that none of the ‘galamsey’ operators was assaulted or attacked by the Operation Koudanlgou II team.
Mr. Mohammed disclosed that he is currently stranded because the team burnt down all the structures at the site which had been providing them with shelter.
He appealed to government to look for other alternatives for them, indicating that they have nothing else to do apart from ‘galamsey.’
Ghana, Burkina Faso and La Cote d’Ivoire are undertaking a joint operation simultaneously along their common borders to combat transnational crimes such as smuggling, drug trafficking, terrorism, human trafficking and illicit arms trade, among others.
From Eric Kombat, Wasipe Â