The Rapid Response Team (RRT) and staff of the Forest Services Division (FSD) in the Tarkwa District of the Western Region arrested 19 illegal miners in the Bonsa River Forest Reserve.
A statement from the Corporate Affairs and Media Relations office at the Forestry Commission said the arrest occurred on Friday, June 28, 2024, at Aboso North Range.
The team had earlier arrested 11 suspects in a similar operation in the same forest reserve on June 12, 2024.
The illegal miners, who work with water-pumping machines, shovels, and other handheld tools, have mounted tents and operated in the reserve day and night.
The suspects have been handed over to the Tarkwa Police Command for further investigations and prosecution.
In a similar operation carried out on June 12, 2024, 11 suspects, made up of 10 males and 1 female, were arrested.
They have been remanded to prison custody while their dockets have been forwarded to the Attorney General's Department for advice.
The statement said there were 21 pending illegal mining cases involving more than 111 suspects who were arrested by officials of the Forestry Commission in forest reserves in the Region.
It said the cases were at various stages of prosecution at the Sekondi High Court 2 and Takoradi Circuit Court.
The statement appealed to the judiciary in the Region to expedite action on all forest offence cases and a stern warning to desist from illegal mining.
The statement said two excavators and one motorbike were immobilised in the Apamprama Forest Reserve, near Kobro, on Friday, June 28, 2024, by the staff of FSD in the Bekwai District of the Ashanti Region and members of the RRT.
There was no arrest because the culprits bolted upon seeing the team.
The statement said illegal operators in the Apamprama Forest Reserve had resorted to working at night to avoid being arrested by officials of the Commission.
That, it said, necessitated a change in the modus operandi of staff of the Commission, which led to an increase in their night patrols, in addition to intelligence reports, which led to the immobilisation of the two excavators.
The Forestry Commission staff in the Bekwai Forest District were committed to fighting the illegal mining menace to safeguard the forest and wildlife resources.
It advised illegal operators to stay away from the Apamprama Forest Reserve and other reserves to protect the environment from further destruction.
GNA
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