Illegal mining task force arrests two persons
Soldiers interrogate members of illegal mining task force
An illegal mining task force under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources is alleged to have been brutalized by some military officers on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, at Asankragwa in the Western Region of Ghana.
In a voice recording of the incident sighted by GhanaWeb, the soldiers are heard interrogating some members of the task force on their mission in the area.
A lady who identified herself as Mabel Hammond working in the Office of the President told one of the soldiers that there were commissioned by the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, George Mireku Duker to apprehend illegal miners on and near water bodies and hand them over to the police.
“We work for Honourable George Mirelu Duker under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources. He appointed us as a task force,” she told the officer.
While the interrogation was ongoing, sounds of whipping and commanding shouts such as “heads up” is heard in the background of the voice audio.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources in a statement has said the ministry is assisting in investigations to establish the facts surrounding the encounter between the task force and the military officers.
While confirming the appointment of the task force to fight against illegal mining, the statement said the task force was dispatched to Enchi in the Western-North Region upon receipt of information that some illegal mining activities were taking place in the area.
TWI NEWS
According to the statement, the task force while reporting back to Accra after their work in the region identified an illegal mining site along the Manso-Amenfi road and effected the arrest of two persons.
“The Deputy Minister in charge of Mining was duly informed and they were advised to contact the DCE for the conveyance of the two excavators from the site to Amenfi Central District Assembly.
“A Chinese national and a Ghanaian were arrested during the operation and they were handed over to Manso-Amenfi police.
“On their way back to Accra, after the arrest, some military personnel met them around Wassa Akropong, accosted and purported to have brutalized the team and sent them to Obuasi Central Police Station,” the statement said.
Listen to recordings of the incident below:
