Arrest Adansi South NADMO Co-ordinator - Minister Orders
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Sarpong, has ordered the immediate arrest of the NADMO Co-ordinator for Adansi South (New Edubiase), Robert Dzamesi, for alleged illegal mining on more than 20 acres of the Oda Forest Reserve in Amansie Central.
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Already, another suspect, Gariba Mohammed, is in police grip for being a member of a team which is illegally mining on a portion of land belonging to the Takoradi Plywood Product Limited.
Until his arrest, Mohammed was said to be mining on about 0.33 hectares of the concession which had been leased to the Takoradi firm for 40 years.
The minister, who led a team from the Ashanti Regional Security Co-ordinating Council, including the Regional Police Commander, DCOP Nathan Kofi Boakye, was in Amansie Central last Tuesday, as a follow-up to last week’s operation by the Regional Anti-Galamsey Task Force, which arrested 12 people.
Those who were arrested comprised 10 Ghanaians, who have since been given a police inquiry bail and two Chinese nationals, who have been referred to the Ghana Immigration Service for their status to be determined.
Untouchables
The Co-ordinator of the Ashanti Regional Timber Task Force, Ex-W.O.1 Prince Boamah, who briefed the minster and his team, said Mr Dzamesi, who had tagged himself as “untouchable” literally threatened everybody, including the Forestry security, if they tried to stop him from the illegal activity.
Mr Dzamesi is reported to have been evasive, and his “team of loyal boys” always outwitted the police team each time an operation was planned.
The forestry team on whose land the illegal miners had encroached, alleged that the group included a large force of “powerful political leaders across the divide” and indicated that they would forward their names to the minister secretly for onward submission to the President.
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Mr Sarpong, angry at the development, reiterated his pledge to pursue the alleged perpetrators until the activities of the illegal operators were halted.