Five Chinese men alongside Four Ghanaians have been arrested by the Ghana Police in the Western region for illegal mining. The men were reportedly mining for gold on the Ankobra River which is situated at Bamianko Dawule in the Nzema East Municipality. The area which is a major source of fish for neighbouring communities has long been a victim of illegal mining.
Members of the Bamianko Dawule community alerted authorities after observing suspicious activities on the River Ankobra. This culminated in the formation of a combined security team from the Rapid Deployment force as overseen by the regional police commander, DCOP Kwesi Duku, as well as the regional Crime Investigation Department (CID) which successfully brought the criminals into custody.
The Western Region’s Ghana Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) in the person of ASP Olivia Awurabena Adiku spoke to Citi News about the incidence stating that;
“the suspects were immediately put before the Sekondi District Magistrate Court, but have been remanded into police custody to reappear on 27th March 2017”.
He also noted that; “Investigations have started into the incident. We are liaising with the Ghana Immigration Service to know the status of the Chinese nationals involved and when that is determined, we will take it from there.”
See Also: Environmental Hazards Looming Over Ghana’s Unreasonable Value For Gold
ASP Adiku went on to assure that the regional police “is determined to flush out illegal miners on all rivers in the region to ensure that the rivers are back to their former state.”
Meanwhile, the identities of the Chinese men were revealed to be; Dong Cheng 30, Ning Guorui 42, Li Zilong 44, Yin Biquiang 46, and Hung Jian 51. Their Ghanaian cohorts include; Kofi Darko 21, Eric Owusu 28, Kwesi Owusu 28, Nana Adu 42 and Kwabena Adjei 50.
The Ankobra River is of much importance to the bordering communities as it is to the distant towns. In addition to being a valuable source of fish, the Ghana Water Company Limited at Axim in the Nzema East Municipality fetches its water for treatment which is then channelled for supply as far as the Ellembelle District and the municipality. Also, numerous hydro-electric schemes have been proposed for the upper reaches of the river.
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