A 37-member police team, led by ASP Bawah Abdul Jalil, has raided parts of the Dwendwenase Forest Reserve in the Asante South Municipality of the Ashanti Region, as the Inspector General of Police extends the crackdown on illegal mining.

The operation confirmed they were actively engaged in illegal mining activities within the forest.

Upon noticing the presence of the task force, the suspects managed to flee the scene, abandoning two (2) excavators.

Efforts were made to start and relocate the excavators. However, one of them was found to be faulty and could not be started or moved. The other excavator was successfully loaded onto a low-bed carrier.

As the team began moving back to base with the recovered excavator, additional intelligence was received about a nearby village called Atta Ne Atta, close to Dwendwenase, where an excavator operator had hidden another machine on a cocoa farm.

The team proceeded to the location and impounded the excavator. The operator had disconnected some components, making it difficult to start or move.

However, with the expertise of the task force’s technical team, the excavator was successfully started and subsequently loaded onto the low-bed carrier.

Both excavators were then transported to the base at Patase for safekeeping and further action.