The Forestry Commission has apprehended eleven Chinese nationals and ten Ghanaians in a coordinated, intelligence-driven raid on illegal mining activities within the Yakombo Forest Reserve in the Buipe Forest District of the Savannah Region.

The operation took place on Tuesday, December 2 by a 51-member team made up of forest guards from the Buipe and Bole Forest District offices of the Forest Services Division, supported by three Rapid Response units, to dismantle the illicit mining activities in the protected reserve.

The suspects were apprehended in Compartments 50 and 51 of the reserve, near Tuntumba in the Bole-Bamboi District.

The Yakombo Forest Reserve—created in 1974 and spanning roughly 1,210 square kilometres—remains Ghana’s largest forest reserve, making the recent intrusion a major threat to its ecological integrity.

The Chinese nationals arrested are: Tang Shao Qi (28), He Peng (40), Zhou Qin Sar (25), Wu Xu (39), He Chuang Ye (45), Cheng Lin (40), Long Xi (32), Yang Gesheng (51), Zhang Hongzhaojie (34), Zhou Peng (39), and Wu Yujie (24).

The Ghanaians are Alhassan Yakubu, Daniel Mba (33), Pious Kwabena (20), Emmanuel Amankra (40), Seidu Suleman (44), Sampson Akawuni (22), Thadeus Gideon (27), Mohammed Salim (21), Mohammed Kanamu (25), and Saaka Yakubu (22).

The operation also led to the seizure of vehicles and equipment, including one Toyota Hilux, two Great Wall pick-up trucks, three Howo tipper trucks, and one Man Diesel low-bed truck carrying an excavator.

All the suspects have since been transferred to the Damongo Regional Police Command to assist with investigations and face possible prosecution. The equipment confiscated during the operation has been moved to the Mole National Park, under the care of the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission.