The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has carried out a massive swoop in the Atwima Mponua Forest in the Ashanti Region.
The exercise, conducted on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, formed part of ongoing anti-galamsey operations in the region. It was executed by the NAIMOS task force with support from the Forestry Commission and troops from the 4th Infantry Battalion of the Ghana Army.
The operation, which targeted Anhwiafutu in the Nkawie Forest District of the Offin Shelter Belt, was based on intelligence gathered from local residents.
Arriving at dawn, the task force discovered excavators and other visible signs of illegal mining within the forest. On sighting the team, the miners fled, abandoning their tools and equipment.
The task force immobilized nine excavators and seized three pickup vehicles, including two Toyota Hiluxes and one Nissan, which had been concealed in the forest. The lack of low-bed trucks made it impossible to remove the excavators from the area.
In addition, five changfan machines, several water pumping machines, fuel dumps, old excavator engines, and other equipment were destroyed. Personal belongings of the miners were also set ablaze.
The team later raided a house believed to have accommodated 12 Chinese illegal miners, who had fled at dawn. A search of the house uncovered 18 excavator batteries, 31 buckets of grease, seven gas cylinders, a mini car washing machine, and an excavator radiator.
According to NAIMOS, surveillance in the area has been heightened, and all seized equipment remains under watch as part of the government’s intensified efforts to clamp down on galamsey activities nationwide.
Source: Lands Ministry
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