More than two dozen people — including Chinese and Korean nationals — have been arrested during a security operation targeting alleged illegal mining activities believed to be connected to a firm linked to a senior regional political figure.
The operation, jointly led by the Ghana Police Service and the Forestry Commission, raided six mining sites in the Western North Region town of Samreboi on Thursday (17 April).
According to the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, Elikem Kotoko, the sites are allegedly linked to Akonta Mining, a company widely associated with the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako — popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.
In a Facebook post, Kotoko said the 12-hour operation, which began at dawn, resulted in the arrest of six Chinese nationals, two Koreans, and 18 Ghanaians.
Authorities also impounded eight excavators — though five were reportedly left behind due to “mobility challenges”. Additional seizures included two Toyota Hilux pick-ups, a Toyota RAV4, four motorbikes, and several pieces of mining equipment.
“All who were arrested were immediately sent to Accra for onward action,” Kotoko stated, adding that the operation was part of a wider, intelligence-led effort to clamp down on illegal mining activities — locally referred to as galamsey.
He praised the efforts of Ghana’s Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, as well as the Inspector-General of Police.
“We MUST protect our water bodies, forest reserves and preserve the earth,” Mr Kotoko wrote. “The exercise… has no end in sight as we intend not to give up at all.”
Akonta Mining has been at the centre of previous controversies, with critics accusing the firm of operating in protected forest zones — claims the company has consistently denied.
The latest operation adds to growing pressure on authorities to take decisive action against illegal mining, which environmentalists warn is causing widespread destruction of Ghana’s rivers and forest reserves.
Neither Chairman Wontumi nor Akonta Mining has responded publicly to the latest development.
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