Tarkwa court jails teenage illegal miner for stealing alligator pepper

A Tarkwa District Court has sentenced a 19-year-old illegal miner, Enoch Buamah, to three months of hard labor after he was found guilty of stealing a bag of alligator pepper.

Buamah pleaded guilty to the charge and appealed for leniency before the court, presided over by Charles Owusu Nsiah.

Presenting the case, Police Inspector Patrick Essien explained that the complainant, Fuseini Amadu, was a farmer residing in Kofi Gyan, a community within the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipality.

According to the prosecution, Amadu harvested his alligator pepper in December 2024 and left it to dry on a mat at his farm cottage. On December 12, 2024, while he was away, Buamah, who lived in the same area, reportedly went to the farm with an empty fertilizer bag and stole the dried pepper, valued at GH¢600.

Upon discovering the theft, Amadu sought help from the local community announcers, who broadcasted an alert about the missing produce. A tip-off later revealed that Buamah had been spotted leaving the farm with a fertilizer bag on the day of the incident.

Following this lead, the community’s unit committee task force traced and apprehended Buamah, recovering a fertilizer bag filled with alligator pepper. He was subsequently handed over to the Aboso police, where a formal complaint was lodged.

After considering the evidence, the court sentenced him to three months in prison with hard labor.