The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mr David Asante-Apeatu has urged the second batch of Operation Vanguard to diligently pursue better approaches of interacting with locals in their operational areas, for peaceful attainment of objectives.
The IGP made the call to the national anti-illegal mining task force, on 21st September, 2017, when he, together with the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) Obed Boamah Akwa, visited the task force who were undergoing a ten-day training at the Bundase Training Camp to prepare them to join the earlier deployed task force 1.
Operation Vanguard comprises of security personnel drawn from the military (infantry, navy and air force, where necessary) and policemen (including Marine Unit of the Police Service).
Mr Asante-Apeatu also admonished the troops to take their physical training and health upkeep seriously at their various Forward Operation Bases (FOB), as they combat illegal mining activities throughout the country.
Lt Gen Akwa, on his part, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, assess training activities and outline camp standing orders for their various FOBs, when they are eventually deployed.
He also reiterated that Operation Vanguard is a national assignment and thus should be handled professionally, as the task force has no other option than to succeed.
Meanwhile, the second batch of Operation Vanguard has been deployed to their various FOBs and the Western Region contingent has arrived and been received at their FOB safely.
Welcoming the task force to his FOB, the Officer Commanding (OC) the Western Region task force, Major Mintah-Agyemang urged the troops not to let the Command down in their quest to fight illicit mining activities in their area of operation.
He further stressed that the eradication of the nefarious activities would sustain the country’s natural resources, vegetation, water resources, agricultural and other economic endeavours.
After the reception, the new task force members were accompanied by the older one to tour the operational area after two months of combating illegal mining, also known in local parlance as galamsey, in Western, Eastern and Ashanti Regions.
During their tour, the task force arrested some illegal miners – one Chinese and four Ghanaians – as they also seized their equipment and excavators, fuel in containers, cutlasses, generators amongst many. The five suspects have since been handed over to the police for prosecution.
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