Fifteen suspected illegal miners, including the alleged kingpin, have been arrested and three excavators seized during a joint security operation at an illegal mining site near the Sanso Methodist School in Obuasi in the Ashanti Region.

The operation was launched after a viral social media video exposed ongoing illegal mining activities close to the school. The footage caught the attention of the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, who ordered security agencies to verify the claims and take swift action.

Speaking on Accra-based Tv3, the Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator, Captain (Rtd) John Jabari, said a team made up of National Security operatives, the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) and military personnel was deployed to the site after the report was confirmed.

“So quickly, we dispatched our team at Obuasi to confirm whether the video was true. And when they confirmed it was true, a team of national security, NAIMOS and soldiers were dispatched to the location. So, about 1:30 pm, we got to the location, and we were able to apprehend about 15 suspects and got three excavators from the location. We were able to arrest the kingpin,” he said.

Captain (Rtd) Jabari disclosed that the suspects have been transferred to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters of the Ghana Police Service in Accra for further investigations.

He added that preliminary investigations indicate the illegal miners had been operating at the site for about two weeks. He explained that the illegal activity went unreported because the nearby school was on vacation.

The Ashanti Regional Minister has, however, directed the Regional Reclamation Team to restore the degraded land before pupils return to school.

Captain Jabari said the reclamation exercise is scheduled to begin on August 3 to eliminate potential safety hazards around the school.

“The Regional Minister has ordered that reclamation efforts should commence before the students get back to school. So on Monday August 3, the regional reclamation team will be going to assess the site, then they will try to close or refill the area back to its original position so that the students don’t get hurt when they get back to school,” he assured.