E/R: Joint Police-Military team arrests seven galamseyers
A combined team drawn from the First Infantry Battalion under the Southern Command and personnel from the Eastern Regional Police Command have arrested seven illegal miners destroying water bodies and degrading farmlands in the Eastern Region.
The Operation was led by the Eastern Regional Minister, Rita Akosua Awatey, through Akyem Kubriso in Lower West Akyem, Atewa West, Akyem Takyiman in the Kwaebibirim District, Ayensuano, and Osino in the Fanteakwa South District.
The team confiscated several excavators, 16 water pumps, 24 excavator batteries, and a chainsaw machine.
Other items seized in the operation include two pump action guns, three single barrel rifles, washing carpets and a gold weighing scale.
Briefing the media after the operation, on Saturday, April 12, the Eastern Regional Minister Rita Akosua Awatey affirmed her commitment to halting illegal mining, popularly referred to as galamsey, in the Eastern Region.
Madam Rita Akosua Awatey, who issued a strong warning to illegal miners in the region, stressed that the team will continue to remain in the region and pursue financiers of galamsey.
