The Brong Ahafo Regional Police Public Relations Officer in the region, Chief Inspector Kingsley Oppong, confirmed the incident which happened on Sunday to Citi News.

He said the deceased was found trapped under the tree with a deep cut in his abdomen when the police found him.

“On the 11th of February, 2018, at about 8.00 am on Sunday, the Assemblyman of Biaso and Tweneboa Michael reported the matter to the police. The two told the police that Michael went to the forest to fell trees but unfortunately, he died after being trapped under the tree. The police then accompanied them to the scene, and met the deceased under the tree. That means the tree was on him,” Inspector Oppong narrated.

He added that, the police have since commenced investigations into the matter, and the body of the deceased has since been deposited at the Goaso Municipal Hospital for preservation and autopsy.

He explained that the Assembly Member and Tweneboa Michael is helping the police in their investigations, and commended community members for playing their community watchdog role and support to the police in the investigation, and appealed to residents to always be on the lookout for criminals and people who engage in illegal mining and lumbering activities and report their activities to the security.

Illegal mining, lumbering and increasing crime rate, has been the major challenge confronting the area.

These compelled the Regional Minister, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, to summon his security chiefs in the region, where he tasked them to monitor and check these activities.

A task-force was subsequently set up that led to several vehicles and trucks loaded with illegal lumber being  impounded.

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By: Mashoud Kombat/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Tree falls on ‘illegal logger’ in Tano Forest, kills him appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The operation followed a tip-off after complaints from chiefs and residents of the area.

It was sanctioned by REGSEC in collaboration with the Regional Forestry Commission and security agencies.

Though the suspect managed to escape arrest, the tools they used in felling the trees including chainsaw machines and a tractor were impounded by the team.

The Regional Minister, speaking to journalists, emphasized his resolve to deal with the problem and expressed regret that the destruction caused by the activities of the illegal operators would impact negatively on the climate and biodiversity of farm lands.

He explained that the exercise was not a witch-hunt, but a desire to preserve and protect the environment from further destruction.

He assured that the exercised will be sustained and a committee led by the national security and other agencies will lead the process, and warned residents involved in the act to desist from it in their own interest.

Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh appealed to all traditional heads to partner his administration to crackdown on the activities of the illegal loggers whose action according to him, was detrimental to the region.

A Concession Guard, Akwasi Issah in conducting the press around the forest, complained that the operators were always armed and operate at night at the blind side of the Forestry Commission and the security agencies.

He lamented that about ten huge trees were felled, and have been cut into pieces of wood waiting to be transported.

He commended the team for the action and called for intense patrols and monitoring at night by the security agencies and the Forestry Commission.

The action of the Minister comes in wake of similar arrests at Banda Ahenkro, Jema and Nsuta all in the region, which are still under investigation by the police and officials of the Forestry Commission last week.

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By: Mashoud Kombat/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Illegal lumberers escape arrest in Ayum Forest appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The illegal lumber was headed for neighboring Burkina Faso, but was intercepted in the Wenchi district on the Wenchi-Wa highway in the Brong Ahafo Region.

[contextly_sidebar id=”QlUGAJNKAkPdQfvIf0glz6gefqDcJO8U”]The Minister and members of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC), seized the trucks reportedly carrying about 2,400 lumber, as they returned to Sunyani from Banda Ahenkro on a fact-finding mission, and to restore calm in that area following recent threats of attacks on non-indigenes.

The trucks impounded include; 6 DAF and MAN Diesels with registration numbers AW 5459-11, PS 422-W, 32HL 4431, 11 H2768 and GT 4279-V.

They were suspected to have engaged in the illegal act at Deaba, a farming community in the Asunafo South District, and they decided to outwit security agencies by using Dormaa- Sampa- Nsawkaw road through Banda Ahenkro, where they were to join the Wenchi-Wa highway to Burkina Faso at Tinga junction.

Luck however eluded them when REGSEC and the Minister intercepted the trucks based on suspicion considering the quantity of lumber that was being transported.

The Regional Minister in an interview with the media on the matter lamented the rate at which the region’s forest cover was being depleted, and pledged his outfit’s readiness to put a stop to the act he described as “criminal”.

He said he will set up a task-force to monitor the activities of illegal loggers.

The truck drivers upon interrogation, admitted carting the lumber from Deaba in the Asunafo South District for a Burkinabe contractor with invoices that under declared the cost of the wood.

Brong Ahafo Regional Police Commander, DCOP Kwame Techi- Poku, has since ordered the trucks be impounded and kept at the Wenchi Police command for further investigations together with the Forestry Commission in Sunyani.

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By: Mashoud Kombat/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post B/A: Minister seizes 7 trucks of illegal chainsaw lumber appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.