NAIMOS Nabs Notorious Galamsey Kingpin Iddrisu Zakari in Eastern Region Sting Operation
In a dramatic sting that underscores Ghana’s intensifying crackdown on illegal mining, operatives from the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) arrested high-profile galamsey kingpin Iddrisu Zakari, alias Yaayaa, on Monday evening after he walked into a trap attempting to bribe investigators and free his detained accomplices.
The apprehension occurred around 6:06 p.m. at Bonsu, near Osino in the Fanteakwa South District, where Zakari—infamous for orchestrating large-scale excavations and demolishing residential structures to access gold deposits—agreed to rendezvous with NAIMOS officers.
Believing he could negotiate the release of his arrested thugs and quash probes into his operations, Zakari reportedly offered a substantial bribe, but the operatives, posing as negotiators, swiftly detained him instead.
During interrogation, he confessed to directing the destruction of buildings in the Osino enclave to facilitate mining, exposing the brazen scope of his syndicate.
The bust caps a whirlwind of enforcement actions targeting Zakari’s network. Just three days prior, on the night of November 7, NAIMOS raided one of his concealed sites in the Osino residential area, netting 32 Nigerien nationals—many wielding advanced equipment—and four Ghanaian guards armed with machetes.
This followed a dawn strike on November 8 that swept up an additional 36 suspects across Osino, part of a broader NAIMOS offensive reclaiming degraded farmlands and waterways.
Zakari, now in Ghana Police Service custody for deeper scrutiny, joins a roster of high-value targets felled in recent weeks, including two Chinese financiers in Jomoro’s Tano Anwia Forest Reserve on October 8 and a pistol-packing operator in Ayensuano who dangled GH¢100,000 in bribes on November 9—also rebuffed and arrested.
Launched in June under President John Dramani Mahama’s administration, NAIMOS has amplified operations like Operation Halt II, deploying joint task forces with drones, naval patrols, and community tip lines to target foreign proxies and local enablers.
Yet, as galamsey kingpins like Zakari—often shielded by political or chieftaincy ties—fall, experts warn of escalating pushback, including armed confrontations and river blockages poisoning supplies like the Ayensu.
With nine forest reserves fully overrun and mercury-laced waters fueling health crises, the secretariat vows intensified sweeps, urging citizens: “Report suspicious activities—stop galamsey now.”
