The District Chief Executive (DCE) of Ellembelle, Kwasi Bonzo, has called for the arrest and prosecution of the owners of the excavators which went missing after they were impounded.

He argued that considering the level of land degradation in the area due to the activities of these excavators, the owners must face the full rigours of the law.

In the past few days, the DCE has come under a barrage of accusations following the disappearance of two excavators in the Ellembelle District.

He was granted a police enquiry bail on Thursday, September 8, after being charged with offensive conduct and assault for allegedly attempting to obstruct an operation to retrieve the missing excavators.

Speaking to the media after his court appearance, Mr Kwasi Bonzo was hopeful that the remaining culprits would be arrested.

“I want to thank the Regional Police Command for the decisive action in [retrieving] the excavators and also [arresting] the Chinese. This is what we have been yearning for since the outbreak of all these events.

“We have confidence that the same process through which they found one excavator, they will find the second excavator and also the owners of the excavators must be found and brought to book.

“If you look at the level of degradation that these two excavators have done on the lands in our district, there is no way these owners of the excavators can go scot-free,” he said.

Update on arrests

The Ghana Police Service has arrested nine more suspects and retrieved three excavators and three pump action guns in another anti-galamsey operation in the Western Region.

The suspects are made up of three Chinese nationals and six Ghanaians.

On Thursday, September 8, the Service arrested five Chinese nationals over the Ellembelle missing excavators.

This was done through “a special police operation conducted between the night of September 7, till the dawn of September 8, 2022,” the statement said.