A dawn operation by the Forestry Commission has disrupted an illegal mining operation inside the Atewa Range Forest Reserve, with 12 suspected illegal miners arrested and mining equipment seized.
The Commission’s Rapid Response Unit (RRU) carried out the operation on September 4, 2026, around the Sagyimase community in Compartments 61 and 62 of the reserve within the Kyebi Forest District.
Accra-based Citi News reported that the operation involved 17 personnel drawn from the Assin Fosu, Akim Oda and Juaso Forest Districts, who were deployed at about 1:30 a.m. as part of a covert effort to target illegal mining activities in the protected forest.
The team reportedly caught a group of miners actively working at the site. While 12 suspects were apprehended, others managed to escape into the surrounding bush.
Among the items seized were five motorbikes, 11 shovels, water hoses, blankets used for washing gold and three gallons of petrol.
The motorbikes included three Royal motorbikes, one Apsonic Aloba and one Apsonic Paul Sport.
The Forestry Commission said the 12 suspects, together with two of the seized motorbikes and other exhibits, have been handed over to the Kyebi District Police Command for further investigation and prosecution.
The remaining three motorbikes have been kept at the Kyebi District Office of the Forest Services Division for safekeeping.
The Commission said the operation ended without casualties and described the arrests as part of efforts to deter illegal miners from entering protected forest reserves.
The latest arrests come amid continued concerns over activities threatening the Atewa Range Forest Reserve, an important biodiversity hotspot and watershed.
The reserve serves as the headwaters of the Birim, Densu and Ayensu rivers, which supply water to millions of people, including communities in and around Accra.
Beyond the immediate loss of forest cover, continued illegal mining in the reserve has raised concerns about the potential consequences for water security and biodiversity.
The Forestry Commission has consequently vowed to sustain enforcement operations aimed at flushing out illegal miners who continue to operate within Ghana’s forest reserves.
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