The Ghana Police Service has arrested 23 suspects involved in illegal mining, as well as disabled and retrieved various mining equipment.

The Sevice has deepened its crackdown on illegal mining through targeted, intelligence-led operations in the Western Region.

In the Wassa Akropong District, police arrested 23 suspects during operations along the Wassa Akropong–Japa–Dadieso road.

The team also extended operations to the Obeng Mining Group site at Wassa Japa, where 64 changfan machines were disabled.

At Wassa Dominase, officers responded to intelligence on illegal mining near the Goil and Energy Oil filling stations along the Agona Amenfi–Gyedua Kesse Junction road.

Seven changfan machines and washing boards were disabled. Three water pumping machines and one pickaxe were retrieved.

In a separate operation in Asankrangwa, police acted on information about illegal mining near the 1D1F building along the Asankra Saah–Asankra Kwabeng road, retrieving three water pumping machines and four motorbikes.

All suspects are in custody assisting with ongoing investigations.

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 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.