Three Chinese nationals and a Ghanaian individual have been arrested by National Security operatives for suspected illegal mining activities (galamsey) along the Pra River near Supom-Dunkwa in the Shama District of the Western Region.
The suspects, whose names have not been released, were allegedly using sand winning as a cover for their illegal operations. They have been handed over to the Western Regional Police Command in Sekondi.
According to Hashem Tankonu, a National Security operative who led the operation, illegal miners are increasingly using sand winning as a front for galamsey.
He explained that the suspects had a galamsey operation set up alongside their sand winning activities, making it difficult to detect without close observation. “Behind the house at the corner, there is a galamsey set up there…they are doing galamsey but if you are not smart, you will be fooled by that facade of sand winning,” Tankonu stated. “But then in actual terms, they are doing the sand winning and they are doing the galamsey alongside the sand winning and you will not suspect it.”
