NAIMOS arrests 7 in midnight 'anti-galamsey' raid

A National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Squad (NAIMOS) task force has arrested seven people in a midnight clampdown on illegal mining at Asuom in the Kwaebibirem District of Ghana’s Eastern Region.

The operation, carried out at about 01:20 GMT on Saturday, 6 December, targeted an active galamsey site concealed in a palm plantation along a stream known locally as Nukuru. The watercourse feeds directly into the Birim River, a key water source that has come under severe pressure from illegal mining.

According to officials, the swoop led to the arrest of six Chinese nationals and one Ghanaian, all alleged to have been engaged in active mining along the banks of the stream.

Security personnel say they uncovered a well-organised illegal mining set-up equipped with excavators, vehicles and other heavy-duty machinery.

All equipment on site was seized, while makeshift structures supporting the operations were pulled down as part of efforts to disrupt further activity at the location.