Forestry Commission arrests Manse chief, nine others involved in illegal mining backed by some top politicians

The Forestry Commission has arrested the Chief of Manse, Nana Kwame Sobre II, and nine other suspects, for allegedly engaging in illegal mining.

Seven Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) from the Rapid Response Unit (RRU) of the Forestry Commission on Wednesday dawn, carried out a swoop on illegal miners at the Manse portion of the Anhwiaso East Forest Reserve, near Diaso in the Bibiani Forest District of the Western North Region.

The operation was coordinated by the Forest Services Division Headquarters and the Rapid Response Unit.

The swoop was carried out to flush out illegal miners who have entered the Reserve with heavy machinery, and had destroyed the forest cover and polluted water bodies through their illegal mining operations.

These illegal acts are alleged to be backed by some top political actors and traditional authorities in the Region.

The RRTs arrested 10 persons who gave their names as Nana Kwame Sobre II (Chief of Manse); Osman Shaibu; Nana Kwasi; Desmond Nkrumah; Abraham Donkor; Frank Mensah; Richard Kurofie; Patrick Ayambila; Abdul Salam and Rasad Nuoeeikaa.

According to the rest of the suspects, the first suspect, Nana Kwame Sobre II, the chief of Manse, was the one who recruited them into the illegal mining business.

The Team also immobilised two excavators and two heavy duty generator plants found at the illegal mining site.

The arrested persons have been sent to the Dunkwa Police Station from where they would be transferred to the appropriate Police jurisdiction in the Western North Region to be processed for court.

Speaking to the press, the Coordinator of the Rapid Response Unit, Mr. Samuel Darko Akonnor, issued a strong warning to all such perpetrators to desist from such acts because the Forestry Commission was ever prepared to fight them to save the nation's forest and wildlife resources as well as water bodies for now and posterity.

GNA