A joint police and Forestry Commission team has arrested 16 armed men accused of preventing officials from accessing the Asenayo Forest Reserve to clamp down on illegal mining.

The suspects were allegedly armed with pump-action guns, machetes and talismans during a confrontation with the security team.

The incident followed several weeks of surveillance by the Nkawie District Office of the Forestry Commission, led by District Manager Abraham Essel.

According to the Commission, illegal operators had invaded a section of the reserve at Afipaye and moved two excavators and a bulldozer into the forest under the guise of undertaking reclamation.

A 16-member Rapid Response Team, drawn from Mankraso, Bekwai, and Nkawie, was deployed to the area on Monday, August 31.

The team managed to arrest four suspects, but other armed men allegedly overpowered the officers and forcibly freed them.

Mr Essel said the team was subsequently forced to retreat due to the security threat.

“Apparently, he started doing something like a reclamation from the off-reserve area and then heading towards the reserve. And so, Sunday, he entered.

"And so, Monday, we organised the rapid response team, I think three teams from Mankraso, Bekwai and Nkawie, to visit the scene. And that is when, when they went, our team succeeded in arresting four persons. But there were a lot of thugs there.

"The thugs there were armed. And so, they forcibly took the four persons from our team. And looking at the security situation, they had to retreat.”

A joint police-Forestry Commission reinforcement team later returned to the area on Thursday, September 3.

The operation led to the arrest of 16 suspects after another confrontation.

Mr Essel said the men resisted arrest and were carrying weapons and talismanic items.

“There was. Oh, yes. Today, yes. There was a confrontation. The police had a tough time before they could even apprehend those 16 guys.

"The kind of juju and some weapons they were holding are all at the Kumasi police station. I also have some photographs of them and some videos of the confrontation. It wasn’t an easy task at all. They resisted.”

One policeman sustained an injury to the face during the confrontation.

Forestry officials also questioned claims by one Richmond Osei that he had authorisation from the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council to undertake reclamation inside the reserve.

The Forestry Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority reportedly had no information about such an authorisation.

Officials said the operation initially appeared to be a reclamation exercise outside the reserve but later extended into Compartment 202, where they alleged mining was taking place.

Mr Essel said: “No, they were mining. For the reclamation, they started something camouflage at the off-reserve. Inside there, they were mining. Yeah, so compartment 202. I mean, if it is not in the forest reserve, we would not even bother ourselves to go there.”

Several other suspects operating the excavators and bulldozer reportedly escaped during the operation.

The 16 arrested suspects have since been taken to the Ashanti Regional Police Headquarters for profiling.