A joint anti-galamsey taskforce operation has been carried out against illegal miners in the Boi Forest Reserve in the Aowin Municipality of the Western North Region.
The taskforce comprising police, military, national security operatives and the Blue Water Guard officials destroyed camps and equipment used by the miners.
The Boi Forest Reserve has become a hotspot for galamsey activities, with illegal miners operating deep inside the reserve. The taskforce destroyed the camps and set them ablaze, rendering the area uninhabitable for the illegal miners.
Several mining machines, including pumping equipment and changfangs, were also burnt during the operation.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Aowin, Stephen Morcher, revealed that the illegal miners were foreigners from Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Togo.
The MCE stressed that the fight against illegal mining in the Boi Forest Reserve requires urgent government intervention, calling for the establishment of a permanent military base within the reserve.
The MCE issued a strong warning to all illegal miners to vacate the forest reserves and water bodies within the municipality, emphasizing his commitment to ensuring that galamsey is eradicated from Aowin.
By Emmanuel Sowah
