Three friends have been granted GH¢100,000 bail with two sureties each by the Nkawie circuit court in the Atwima Nwabiagya South Municipality of the Ashanti region, for engaging in illegal mining activities at Atwima-Tetrem.

Fatawu Seidu 35, Mechanic, Solomon Osei, 40, barber and Simon Awindawu, 19, unemployed, pleaded not guilty and will reappear before the court presided over by Robert Addo on May 5, this year.

Police Detective Chief Inspector Ntim Boadu, prosecuting, told the court that the complainants of the case were Police Officers.

He said, on April 08, this year, at about 9:20am, the Police had a tipoff that the accused persons were prospecting for gold in the concession of the Asanko Gold Mining Company at Tetrem-Aboabo.

The Police went and met the accused persons in a dug illegal mining pit, but upon seeing the Police, they hid their gold detector machine in the pit and fled.

The Police, however, managed to arrest them and in their caution statement Fatawu and Awindawu admitted the offense, but Osei denied and told the Police that he only accompanied his friends to watch their work.

After further investigations, they were charged and brought before the court.