Sixty-four (64) illegal miners have been apprehended and arrested by government’s anti-galamsey task-force, Operation Vanguard.
The latest arrest brings to 294 the number of illegal miners arrested so far.
The arrests were made in Western, Ashanti and Eastern Regions, the operational areas of the task-force.
[contextly_sidebar id=”tGWBNXMiTgxdQVP4Qawl0Z3GSvN5Kpra”]The team, which is led by the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Frimpong Boateng, also includes the Defense Minister Dominic Nitiwul, and representatives from the Interior Ministry.
In an interview with Citi News’ Kojo Agyeman, the Public Relations Officer for Operation Vanguard, Major Gariba Pabi, said “so far we’ve arrested 294 illegal miners as of this morning [Tuesday].”
He explained that, when such arrests are made, the police convey the suspects to the nearest police station and process them for court.
He added that since the team took over the task about months ago, they’ve been able to move over 60 earth moving equipment from illegal mining sites.
Major Pabi said the modus operandi of some of the illegal miners has changed because they have informants who alert them before Operation Vanguard gets to the mining sites.
He explained that Operation Vanguard is also adopting new strategies to outsmart the illegal miners.
“In the areas where the illegal miners operate, they have bought phones for other people who serve as lookouts so when our vehicles are passing, they will inform the people on the field that we are coming so they run. So by the time we get there, the illegal miners are usually not there. Or sometimes when we get there, they may have removed some parts of the excavators so that our team cannot move the excavators. So now we are finding an alternative such that if they do that, we can move the excavators or we can also remove some parts and give it to the police,” Major Pabi added.
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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin