The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has intensified its nationwide crackdown on illegal mining activities, arresting one Chinese national and seven Ghanaians during an intelligence-led operation at Oseikokrom in the Amansie West District of the Ashanti Region.
The operation, conducted on Thursday, May 21, 2026, targeted an active illegal mining site where suspects reportedly attempted to flee after spotting the approaching task force.
Members of the operation team, however, intercepted and arrested the suspects before they could escape.
During the raid, authorities seized two Toyota Hilux pickup vehicles, two excavators and a pump-action gun. According to NAIMOS, one excavator was transported to the Secretariat’s logistics holding facility in Kumasi, while the second machine was immobilised at the site after officers removed its monitor and control board because it could not be moved due to an installed tracking device.
The task force also demolished several makeshift structures believed to have been used as hideouts by the illegal miners.
The arrested suspects included 38-year-old Chinese national Huang Weiye and seven Ghanaian workers allegedly linked to the illegal mining operation.
Director of Operations at NAIMOS, Dominic Buah, said the Secretariat would continue to intensify what he described as “surgical raids” across illegal mining hotspots nationwide.
He explained that the operations were aimed at dismantling illegal mining networks accused of destroying cocoa farms, forest reserves and roads, while also polluting major water bodies across the country.
NAIMOS further disclosed that the Chinese suspect had been transferred to the Secretariat’s headquarters for further investigations and eventual handover to the Ghana Immigration Service.
The Ghanaian suspects, meanwhile, have been handed over to the Antoakrom Police Station to assist with investigations and possible prosecution.
