The four Chinese nationals who were arrested last week for engaging in illegal mining in the Adansi Asokwa District of the Ashanti Region have been arraigned at the Bekwai Circuit Court.

The accused persons, Li Quan (44), Lu Jianzheng (36), Li Xuyu (47), and Su Shanxing (63), have been remanded into police custody.

The suspects are to reappear before the court on Tuesday, July 15.

The collaborative intelligence-led operation by the Ashanti South Regional Police Command targeted illegal mining sites along the Subin River and Jimi River, both of which serve as crucial sources of drinking water for adjoining communities.

During the operation, seven excavators were seized from the illegal mining site and transported to secure police custody. Four pump-action guns were also retrieved from the suspects.

Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, His Excellency Tong Defa, has absolved Chinese citizens residing in Ghana from blame over the degradation of the environment by activities of illegal miners (galamseyers) in the country.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, June 19, he held Ghanaians, particularly rural dwellers, responsible for the destruction of properties and loss of lives due to the menace.

He indicated that a significant number of Chinese nationals arrested for illegal mining were migrant workers invited by Ghanaians seeking to profit quickly from the mining industry.

“Some of those who were caught red-handed are just migrant workers… I have social media, and when I post on X, people tag me with galamsey as if galamsey is caused by China. It is unfair to me. It is really unfair to me and to the majority of Chinese. Actually, it is not Chinese. It didn’t originate from China. Chinese nationals cannot obtain licences or get permits. It is the Ghanaian people who throw the Chinese people over here.

“To my understanding, in this country, you can never eliminate those small mines. Those mines will have illegalities involved in them. We need to find ways to solve this problem… The government needs to work on a policy to eliminate the pollution of waters and forests,” he noted.

He further called on the government to initiate stricter measures and policies to curb illegal mining activities and hold perpetrators accountable.

Several Chinese individuals have been involved in galamsey activities, leading to their arrest; however, prosecution has not been successful due to poor coordination between law enforcement and prosecutors and language barriers during legal proceedings.

Recently, the government attributed the lack of justice delivery to Chinese foreign nationals to a language barrier. Supreme Court Judge nominee Justice Philip Bright Mensah corroborated this information, stating that the lack of proper interpretation in court by interpreters adds to the challenges of judges to prosecute culprits.

“The interpreters themselves, sometimes they are also a problem. So if the judge himself understands the language, it will be better served for him to understand what he is doing for us to be able to curb the menace of galamsey,” he said, noting the need for judges to learn the Chinese language.

Over 500 arrests have been made from January to May this year in response to efforts to combat illegal mining, locally known as galamsey.

In May, the Ghana Police Service confirmed the arrest of 17 individuals, including seven Chinese nationals and ten Ghanaians, in connection with illegal mining activities in Samreboi, located in the Western Region.

The Central North Police Regional Command’s Special Anti-Galamsey Taskforce on April 7 apprehended five suspects—two Ghanaians and three Chinese nationals—for engaging in illegal mining activities on the River Fum at Assin Ayitey, a farming community near Assin Akonfudi in the Assin North Constituency, within the Central North Police Region.

The arrested individuals were identified as Duut Kwabena Sakakba, aged 29; Bismark Asare, aged 36; and three Chinese nationals—Lin Wei, aged 45; Zhao Min, aged 38; and Lu Chen, aged 41.

The effects of illegal mining continue to affect the country adversely. Billions of cedis are lost due to the smuggling of gold by illegal miners. Also, the water bodies and forest reserves are due to the use of mercury, other harmful chemicals, and heavy equipment.

The government has initiated a number of measures to quell the activities of illegal miners in the country.

Excavator owners and operators who have failed to register their machines with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) risk losing them to the state, as the government intensifies efforts to clamp down on illegal mining activities.

To further control the situation, the DVLA, in collaboration with key agencies like the Minerals Commission, National Security, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), has started tagging all newly imported excavators.

Legal small-scale mining sites have also been geo-fenced, with their site coordinates integrated into the Ghana Mine Repository and Tracking software for better oversight.

According to President John Dramani Mahama, the government plans to reclaim 10,000 hectares of mined-out lands from illegal mining activities.