A Wa Circuit Court in the Upper West Region has remanded 11 illegal miners, also known as ‘galamseyers,’ into police custody.
They include Burkinabe suspects-Sawadogo Yakubu, 22; Zuure Abdul Razak, 19; Gibril Sawadogo 18, Abdu-Whab Pafadina 20.
The Ghanaians include Saaka Chaglenaa 20, Sadat Abdulai, 20, Clement Bsig-Naa, 26; Dauda Iddrisu, 18; Mohammed Mumuni, 19; Dabile Saliah, 51 and Pascal Sam Barman, 23.
According to the Upper West Police Command, they received complaint from residents of Wa East District about the unexplained deaths of their livestock along Danyor River at Danyor Kruaa, a village near Funsi.
The Police Command therefore tasked the Regional Crime Officer to investigate and unravel the mysteries surrounding the death of the livestock in the area.
The investigations revealed that there were illegal mining activities going on in the area, which had polluted the river which is the main source of water in the district.
A taskforce, numbering 50 personnel, was formed to carry out a swoop on camps of suspected illegal miners in the area to save life and property, leading to the arrest of the11 illegal miners.
Some items retrieved by the police include nine motorbikes, a Chanfa machine, a generator, two water pumps machines, 28 shoves, two pickaxes, three wheel barrows, two water hoses, four solar panels, a piece of yellowish metal suspected to be gold and other mining implements.
The Upper West Police Command assured residents that they can go about their legitimate business without fear.
The Command also appealed to residents to volunteer information to apprehend criminals, who make life difficult for them.
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