The Rapid Response Unit (RRU) of the Forestry Commission has arrested 12 persons for allegedly engaging in illegal mining inside the Atewa Range Forest Reserve in the Eastern Region.
The arrests followed a joint covert operation conducted at dawn on Thursday around the Sagyimase community, specifically in Compartments 61 and 62 of the Atewa Forest Reserve within the Kyebi Forest District.
According to the Joint Operation Report, 17 personnel from the Assin Fosu, Akim Oda and Juaso Forest Districts were deployed at about 1:30 a.m. to clamp down on illegal mining activities in the reserve.
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Upon reaching the mining site, the team encountered a group of illegal miners actively operating in the forest.
Twelve suspects were apprehended, while others escaped into the surrounding bushes.
Those arrested include Pagase Lord, 18, from Paga; Kwabena Joe, 25, from Binprugu; Zinivi Kofi, 22, from Wa; Michael Owusu, 21, from Dambai; Narh Joseph, 24, from Asamankese; Sanoma Emmanuel, 21, from Dormaa Ahenkro; and Abugart Daniel, 18, from Garu.
Also arrested were Apam Kwesi, 32, from Binduri; Affum Gideon, 25; Adu Richmond, 21; and Isaac Ababio, 21, all from Adukrom; as well as Abass Osuman, 32, from Tamale.
The operation also led to the seizure of two motorbikes, 11 shovels, water hoses, blankets used for washing gold and three gallons of petrol.
The Forestry Commission said the suspects, together with the two motorbikes and other exhibits, have been handed over to the Kyebi District Police Command for further investigation and prosecution.
Three additional motorbikes have been retained at the Kyebi District Office of the Forest Services Division for safekeeping.
The Forestry Commission described the operation as successful and said it was conducted without casualties.
It said the arrests and seizure of equipment should serve as a deterrent to individuals who continue to enter protected forest reserves to engage in illegal mining.
The Atewa Range Forest Reserve is one of Ghana’s major biodiversity hotspots and an important watershed.
The forest serves as the source of the Birim, Densu and Ayensu rivers, which provide water to millions of people, including residents of Accra and communities in the Eastern Region.
However, illegal mining and logging have placed increasing pressure on the reserve, raising concerns over biodiversity conservation and Ghana’s water security.
The Forestry Commission has pledged to sustain operations against illegal miners operating within forest reserves as part of efforts to protect the country’s forest resources and critical water bodies.