3 Chinese, 7 Ghanaians arrested for galamsey at Oda River Forest Reserve

Three Chinese were among 10 illegal small-scale miners arrested for galamsey activities in the Ashanti Region.

Their activities were discovered in the Oda River Forest Reserve in the Amansie Central District in the resource-rich region, the Daily Graphic newspaper reports.

They were arrested in a three-day operation by the Bekwai Forest District of the Forest Services Division (FSD) of the Forestry Commission and the Rapid Response Teams drawn from four other forest districts, the Daily Graphic report said.

It added that the three-day operation which was undertaken between Wednesday and Friday (December 6 and 8, 2023), formed part of the ongoing efforts by the Forestry Commission to clamp down on illegal mining activities (galamsey) in forest reserves across the country.

FSD Executive Director, Hugh Brown, shared details of the operation with the Daily Graphic, including that, the galamseyers were operating in seven compartments in the forest reserve, which is one of the designated red zones.

"In addition, 10 excavators, 19 fuel tanks, nine power plants, two chanfang machines, four motorbikes, five water pumping machines and seven wooden structures were demobilised," he said.

Mr Brown said seven out of the 10 suspects - Michael Korsah, Basit Shizu, Amadu Musah, Prince Boakye, Amedodzi Kofi, Akwasi Adu and Shi Tiachao, who were arrested on Wednesday, December 6, were arraigned before the Bekwai Circuit court on December 7.

He said the remaining three - Bernard Sarkodie, Li Tauhai and Rao Shifa who were arrested on Thursday, December 7, appeared before the Court on December 8.

"All 10 suspects have been remanded into police custody for one week," he said.

The arrest comes barely a week after an Accra High Court jailed a Chinese galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang. She was handed a four-and-half-year sentence for galamsey as well as other immigration offences.

The fight against galamsey has been topical in recent years after the adverse impact of their activities became clear in terms of destruction of water bodies and farm lands in mining areas.

Government has serially stated its commitment to the anti-galamsey fight but the fight has so far been branded a failure as the activities continue unabated in parts of the country.