About 49 suspected illegal miners have been arrested by the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) following a dawn operation at Adiewoso in the Ahanta West Municipality of the Western Region.
The action followed what the Secretariat described as an armed ambush on its operatives by illegal mining syndicates.
According to NAIMOS, the operation—carried out in the early hours of Thursday, April 30—targeted illicit mining activities within the plantation of Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL).
The Secretariat said the exercise was triggered by an earlier incident on Tuesday, April 28, when personnel stationed in Nzema East came under gunfire from armed individuals operating within the GREL concession.
“The assailants discharged multiple rounds from pump-action weapons at one of the task force’s Zonda pickup vehicles,” NAIMOS said in a statement, noting that operatives executed a tactical withdrawal without sustaining any casualties.
In response, NAIMOS launched an intelligence-led mission that culminated in a cordon-and-search exercise between 3:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. across Adiewoso and nearby communities.
A total of 114 individuals were initially detained and screened, with 49 subsequently identified as suspected illegal miners operating within the GREL plantation.
The Secretariat clarified that eight of those screened were confirmed casual workers of GREL, while 12 were senior high school students. Others—comprising artisans and residents with no direct ties to the illegal mining activities—were released.
NAIMOS further disclosed that three of the suspects are foreign nationals: Abdul Karim from Niger, and Nash Ishaku and Eliyasu Sie, both from Burkina Faso.
The operation also led to the recovery of a pump-action firearm and the seizure of more than GH¢226,000 in cash believed to be proceeds from illegal mining.
Officials said GH¢140,000 was retrieved from a Toyota Raize linked to one suspect, while an additional GH¢86,710 and two containers of small, ball-like substances suspected to be gold were found in a Toyota Hilux.
Quantities of substances suspected to be cannabis, along with cartons of cigarettes believed to be connected to the illegal operation, were also confiscated.
NAIMOS noted that officials from GREL management and the Agona Ahanta Police Command participated in the operation to help distinguish legitimate plantation workers from suspected illegal miners.
“The Adiewoso operation reaffirms the resolve of NAIMOS to confront illegal mining in all its manifestations, particularly where it threatens lawful concessions, the livelihoods of legitimate workers, and the structural integrity of the nation’s productive land,” the statement said.
The 49 suspects have since been handed over to the Agona Divisional Police Command for further investigations.
