Four Chinese nationals have been arrested for engaging in illegal mining activities along the Subin and Jimi Rivers at Atatam, a community in the Adansi-Asokwa District of the Ashanti Region.

The operation, which was carried out in a joint effort by the CEO of the Minerals Development Fund (MDF), her team, and officers from the Ashanti South Regional Police Command, revealed significant environmental devastation caused by the suspects.

Led by Regional Operations Commander, ASP Enoch Boateng, the police discovered that the group had destroyed approximately ten football fields’ worth of forest cover.

This illegal activity was in clear violation of Ghanaian mining laws, which prohibit foreign nationals from engaging in small-scale mining.

The arrested individuals, Li Quan (44), Lu Jianzheng (36), Li Xuyu (47), and Su Shanxing (63), were found mining dangerously close to the Subin and Jimi Rivers, which serve as essential sources of drinking water for several surrounding communities.

During the operation, police seized eleven excavators, parts of four of which were dismantled on site to immobilise them. The remaining seven have since been transported to the Regional Criminal Investigations Department (RCID) in Bekwai. Additionally, three pump-action shotguns were retrieved from the suspects.

In a separate but related development, the Tarkwa District Police Commander, Superintendent Eric Akwaboh, led another anti-galamsey operation despite heavy rainfall.

The team of officers stormed an illegal mining site located approximately 800 metres from the Wassa Agona township, where they destroyed several mining equipment left behind by fleeing miners.

Though several illegal miners managed to escape, the swift action by the Tarkwa police has been lauded as part of ongoing efforts to clamp down on the destruction of Ghana’s natural resources.

Authorities have reiterated their commitment to intensifying enforcement operations and bringing perpetrators of illegal mining, both local and foreign, to justice, in a bid to preserve water bodies and protect livelihoods in mining-affected areas.