Three men have been arrested in the Ashanti Region after allegedly attempting to bribe officers of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) following a raid on illegal mining sites in the Bekwai Municipality.
The arrests came on Wednesday after a NAIMOS taskforce carried out operations at Edwinase and later at Kokotro as part of an ongoing crackdown on illegal mining, widely known as galamsey.
According to the Secretariat, officers first revisited sites at Edwinase where earlier operations had forced illegal miners to abandon their activities. Later in the day, the team moved to Kokotro, where they discovered what they described as an illegal mining site located within the township.
NAIMOS said the site posed a threat to lives and property and had caused significant environmental damage.
During the raid, the taskforce dismantled makeshift structures and destroyed two industrial pumping machines along with other equipment. Officers also seized a Liugong excavator, two excavator monitors and an unregistered motorcycle.
The seized equipment has been transported to a secure holding facility in Kumasi.
Alleged bribery attempt
NAIMOS said that while officers were returning to base, three men travelling in a black Ford F-150 vehicle with registration number GR 4743-16 approached the team.
The men — identified as Emmanuel Koblaih, Samuel Addai and Kofi Frimpong — allegedly claimed ownership of the raided site and offered GH¢119,825 in cash in exchange for the release of the confiscated items.
They were immediately arrested and have since been handed over to the Bekwai Police Station for further investigations and possible prosecution.
The cash allegedly offered as a bribe, together with two excavator monitors and the vehicle involved, has been conveyed to NAIMOS headquarters for safekeeping.
Warning issued
NAIMOS has warned individuals involved in illegal mining and their financiers against attempting to bribe enforcement officers, stating that such actions would lead to immediate arrest and prosecution.
The Secretariat also called on local authorities, including security and intelligence agencies, to strengthen monitoring efforts to prevent a resurgence of illegal mining activities in areas already cleared by the taskforce.
Illegal mining remains a major concern in parts of Ghana, with authorities linking it to environmental degradation and risks to communities.
