At least eight illegal miners have been arrested for engaging in unlawful mining activities in the Potroase section of the Atewa Forest Reserve.
The arrests were made through the combined efforts of the Forestry Commission guards at Kyebi and a volunteer youth group from Potroase in the Eastern Region.
This operation comes shortly after the Rapid Response Unit of the Forestry Commission set fire to four excavators owned by a small-scale miner.
Isaac Noble Eshun, the Eastern Regional Director of the Forestry Commission, visited the scene where the miners were apprehended and disclosed that the operation took place while the suspects were actively mining.
“On Sunday, we didn’t receive police assistance, but a youth group in Potroase helped the officer in charge and his men to successfully apprehend the eight individuals who had entered the forest reserve to mine,” he explained.
Eshun also shared details of an earlier encounter on Saturday when heavily built men, allegedly hired by the miners, obstructed officers from making an arrest.
“We received information about people illegally entering the Potroase area of the Atewa Forest Reserve. Our officers tried to approach the area in the evening, but due to the darkness and the presence of these individuals, they were unable to proceed,” he added.
The Forestry Commission has made it clear that it will continue to take strong action against illegal mining in forest reserves.
Eshun emphasized, “We are committed, along with our partners and stakeholders, to combat illegal mining. Over the past two years, the Commission has been cracking down on this issue in forest reserves, as directed by the President and the Minister of the sector. The menace has been spreading, particularly in the Ashanti, Western, and lately the Eastern region.”
