Church Elder Arrested In Anti-Galamsey Operation

The suspect at the time of his arrest and the illegal mining site

 

The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has arrested a Church of Pentecost Elder in an anti-illegal mining operation in Akyem Morso near Juaso in the Asante Akim District of the Ashanti Region. The suspect is reported to be a foreman of an illegal small-scale mining site, the occupation dubbed ‘galamsey’.

The arrest is the outcome of a focused   enforcement operation along the Kume River across the lands of Morso, Kyekyebiase, and Bimma.

The suspect, identified as Elder David Bobie Peter, claims to be an Elder of The Church of Pentecost branch in Konongo.

During the operation on an illegal mining location at Kyekyebiase, several youth were found actively engaged in the illegality.

When they saw the security personnel, they                abandoned their wares and took to their heels.

With a better knowledge of the terrain, the suspects evaded their pursuers.

Frustrated about their inability to catch the illegal miners, the task force proceeded to dismantle eight (8) Chanfang machines and four (4) wooden gold-washing platforms and set them on fire.

Pipe hoses, telltale tools in the illegal mining operation, were also set ablaze and twelve (12) water pumping machines were seized as exhibits.

The surrounding bushes showed fresh excavator tracks which led to an adjoining cocoa farm, where a Sany excavator had been concealed under trees, its control boards and monitor already been removed or disabled by the suspects.

At this stage of the operation, a middle-aged man emerged who said he was only visiting his farm in the area.

It turned out that he was lying and that he was a foreman of one of the illegal mining sites in the area.

David Bobie Peter admitted that he was the foreman of an illegal mining site at Morso, adding that his boss, a certain Appiah, sent him to establish the truth or otherwise of the presence of the security personnel.

It was during the interrogation that Mr. Bobie Peter admitted to being an Elder of The Church of Pentecost in Konongo.

At the site, the extent of degradation of the environment was evident, with the course of the River Kume diverted to facilitate the illegal mining activities of the group.

The Konongo District Police Station has taken over the case.

The NAIMOS operation comes on the heels of a recent scathing remark made by Dr. Mary Awusi, CEO of the Ghana Free Zones Authority against the Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Kwabena Nyamekye.

The Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, went to the church to apologise for the appointee’s gaffe amidst sobbing, which made headlines in both traditional and social media.

NAIMOS has warned Ghanaians against perpetration of illegal mining activities, as those who are arrested will be prosecuted regardless of their social standing.

 

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