Prostitution, Human Trafficking, and Crime: Inside the hidden world of Subri River’s galamsey hub
An illegal mining task force stormed the Subri River Forest Reserve in the Western Region to arrest about 2,000 illegal miners, following intelligence reports about ongoing operations in the forest.
However, to their surprise, they discovered a sprawling community of about 10,000 residents, including nationals from nearly every country in the West African sub-region.
One of the soldiers, speaking to the media in a video shared on X by JoyNews on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, expressed shock at the number of people living in the forest and the extent of illegal activities taking place.
He revealed that the community had been set up by illegal miners to facilitate their operations and said they found evidence of child prostitution, human trafficking, and money laundering, among other crimes.
“So, we are here in Abrewa Ne Nkran, a section of the Subri River Forest Reserve… and this place is an eyesore. It’s full of illegal miners engaged in all sorts of criminal activities. We’ve seen cases of child trafficking, child prostitution, drug abuse, money laundering, counterfeiting, you name it.
“And we are encountering nationals from across the West African sub-region. It’s like a mini ECOWAS. We’ve seen people from Guinea, Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Mali, and other Sahelian countries. And this is supposed to be a rural community, why are they here?” he asked.
The soldier emphasised that while there was no mining within the community itself, the surrounding Subri Forest Reserve had been heavily exploited.
“You can tell that there’s no actual mining taking place inside the community. All the mining is happening in the forest, and the environmental impact is devastating.”
He also disclosed that the task force rescued several children who had been trafficked into the forest.
“As you can see, we raided the community and dismantled the entire illegal hub set up by the miners. We managed to rescue a few young foreign nationals, Nigerians, Nigeriens,” he said.
The video captured hundreds of wooden structures built deep within the Subri River Forest Reserve, some of which were shown burning after being destroyed by the soldiers.
Scores of residents could be seen packing their belongings and evacuating the area.
Watch the video below:
