Prosecutors in the case of galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang, say the Chinese national sneaked out of the country in 2017 to avoid prosecution.
Aisha Huang was remanded by the Accra Circuit Court last week after she and three other Chinese nationals were arraigned for engaging in small-scale mining without a license.
Reappearing in court on Wednesday, September 14, 2022, the prosecution led by Inspector Eric Osi Mensah presented the facts of the case, stating that the first accused person escaped from the country when she was arrested back in 2017 for the same offence.
“All the accused persons are Chinese nationals who have gained notoriety for engaging in a series of small-scale mining activities known as “galamsey” across the country. During the year 2017, 1st accused was arrested for a similar offence but managed to sneak out of the country averting production,” portions of the fact sheet sighted by GhanaWeb said.
The prosecution noted that Aisha Huang managed to sneak back into the country somewhere in the early part of the year and engaged in illegal mining once again until her recent arrest.
“During the early part of 2022, the 1st accused sneaked back into the country, having changed details on her Chinese passport. The 1st accused again resumed the small-scale mining activities without a license and together with the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th accused persons, engaged in the purchase and sale of minerals in Accra without a valid authority granted as required by the Minerals and Mining Act,” the prosecution added.
The claim by the prosecution comes in addition to the controversy that surrounds Aisha Huang’s arrest in 2017 and 2022.
State prosecutors in 2017 reportedly filed for a discontinuance during the trial of Aisha Huang.
It was later reported and corroborated by state officials that she was deported from the country, a reason that accounted for discontinuing her case.
However, following her recent arrest, several questions have been asked about her supposed deportation, with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who had described it as a mistake in the past, expressing scepticism about whether she was indeed removed from the country or not.
The new revelation by the prosecution brings a new twist to the Aisha Huang case and the claims of her being deported from Ghana in 2017.
Meanwhile, the Accra Circuit Court 9 on Wednesday denied Aisha Huang and the three remaining accused persons bail.
The suspects are to reappear in court on September 27, 2022.
Background
Ms. Huang, in 2017, was charged with undertaking small-scale mining operations contrary to Section 99 (1) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703).
She was also charged with providing mine support services without valid registration with the Minerals Commission, contrary to Section 59 and 99 (2) of the Minerals and Mining Act; and also charged with illegal employment of foreign nationals (in breach of Section 24 of the Immigration Act and Regulation 18 of the Immigration Regulations).
Her case was, however, discontinued and she was deported. Her deportation meant the state discontinued the trial against her.
She, however, found her way back into the country, leading to her recent arrest.
A court last week remanded Aisha Huang and three other Chinese nationals into custody to reappear on charges of illegal gold mining and trading.
Her recent arrest is on the same issue of illegal mining.
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Aisha Haung was reported to have been deported from Ghana in 2017