The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has carried out a series of operations in six mining-endemic regions of the country.
The operations were conducted from Monday, 27 July 2026, to Sunday, 2 August 2026, in the Western North, Western, Ashanti, Ahafo, Savannah and Eastern Regions.
According to the NAIMOS Secretariat, operations during the reporting period were concentrated along the Ankobra, Bia, Torya, Tano and Butre rivers in forest and riverine areas around Enchi, as well as at reclaimed mining sites in the Desire Forest Reserve, along the Birim River and in the Tepa-Goaso District.
Intelligence-led joint operations led to significant seizures of logistics used by illegal miners.
As part of the operations, on 29 July 2026, NAIMOS arrested eight suspects at Sikaniasem.
They included Luo Xiaoqiang, 47, and Fuxue Qiang, 48, both Chinese nationals, as well as six Ghanaians: Lushao Adam, 29; Razak Alhassan, 24; Abdul Majeed Dauda, 26; Bilal Yakubu, 18; Mangel Yankey, 19; and Iddrisu Alhassan, 26.
Troops seized one excavator, one Toyota Land Cruiser, one excavator monitor, one generator, three motorbikes, nine water pumps and one single-barrel 12-gauge short gun.
The troops also destroyed 14 water pumps, seven chanfang machines, four generators and five makeshift structures used to support illegal mining activities.
The Task Force conducted extensive reconnaissance at Dadieso, Sefwi Ahibenso, Sefwi Dwenase, Kramokrom, Adjakaa, KKB Village and surrounding cocoa farms, generating valuable intelligence on planned illegal mining activities.
These patrols confirmed evidence of prospecting and test excavations and identified potential financiers and collaborators supporting illegal mining operations.
However, community members were generally reluctant to provide information for fear of intimidation and reprisals by illegal miners, NAIMOS said in its weekly report.
The operations also exposed financiers behind the destruction, including Nana Osei Bonsu, Ezana Kasei Awudu and Emmanuel Amoah.
In the Western Region, the Task Force stormed Tarkwa Nsuaem, Mpohor and Ellembelle on 29 July 2026 and arrested 19 Ghanaian suspects. They were handed over to the Esiama Police Station for further investigations.
