News
NAIMOS, Ghana Army secure Atwima Mponua Forest Reserve from illegal miners
The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), working with the Ghana Army and Forestry Commission, has carried out a major operation to clear illegal miners and armed groups from the Atwima Mponua Forest Reserve in the Ashanti Region.
This was revealed on the Facebook page of Gold Board Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi.
The dawn swoop, conducted on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, involved troops from the 4th Infantry Battalion, officials of the Forestry Commission and NAIMOS personnel. The team moved into Anhwiafutu in the Nkawie Forest District of the Offin Shelter Belt, acting on local intelligence.
When the task force arrived, it found fresh excavator tracks, indicating that several machines had been moved shortly before the operation. Large areas of the forest showed evidence of illegal mining activities. Some miners fled on sighting the team.
During the raid, the task force retrieved and immobilised nine excavators concealed in the forest. It also seized two Toyota Hilux pickups and a Nissan pickup believed to have been used in the operations.
The team burned five “chanfang” machines, several fuel dumps, old excavator engines, personal belongings and seven water pumping machines belonging to the miners.
A nearby house suspected to shelter foreign illegal miners was also searched.
Twelve Chinese nationals had reportedly been staying there but fled before the raid. Items found in the house included 18 excavator batteries, 31 buckets of grease, seven gas cylinders, a mini car washing machine and an excavator radiator.
The seized excavators were immobilised on site because there were no low-bed trucks available to transport them out of the community.
The operation forms part of ongoing efforts to protect forest reserves and water bodies from illegal mining.
By: Jacob Aggrey
A 29-year-old tricycle rider, Naah Mashood, has been sentenced to 14 years imprisonment with hard labour for defiling a three-year-old girl at Tiegber in the Wa Municipality.
The Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Upper West Regional Police Command arrested the suspect on February 24, 2026, following a complaint lodged by the victim’s mother.
According to police, the convict, who had been contracted by the parents to pick the victim to and from school, lured her to an isolated location on February 23, 2026, and sexually assaulted her inside his tricycle, popularly known as ‘Camboo’.
After thorough investigations, he was arraigned before the Wa District Magistrate Court and subsequently stood trial at the Wa High Court.
On October 30, 2026, His Lordship Justice Osei-Wusu found him guilty of defilement and sentenced him to 14 years imprisonment with hard labour.
The Upper West Regional Police Command has commended the officers involved in the investigation and prosecution, as well as all persons who contributed to ensuring justice was served.
The Command urged parents and guardians to keep a close eye on their children and ensure their safety at all times, and encouraged the public to report suspected cases of child abuse and defilement to the nearest police station or DOVVSU office for prompt action.
It further assured the public of its commitment to protecting children and ensuring perpetrators of sexual offences are brought to justice.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The Ashanti Regional Police Command has announced the arrest of three suspected members of a criminal syndicate believed to be behind a series of robberies targeting bank customers in Kumasi and its environs.
On October 31, 2026, at about 11:30 pm, an IGP’s Special Team, comprising personnel from the Anti-Armed Robbery Unit of the CID Headquarters and the Accra Regional Police Intelligence Directorate (PID), acting on intelligence, embarked on an operation to apprehend the suspects.
The operation led to the arrest of two Nigerian nationals, Aboy Promise, 30, and Favour Uwalaka, 45, at a hotel at Moshie Zongo. A search of their rooms resulted in the recovery of GH¢1,600.00, assorted mobile phones, a Royal motorbike and a master key used to gain unauthorized access to victims’ vehicles to steal cash.
During interrogation, the suspects admitted their involvement in the robberies and mentioned two accomplices, Chinedu, alias Alhaji, and Kingsley, alias KC.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the syndicate monitored banking premises, identified customers who withdrew substantial sums of money and trailed them before attacking and robbing them. They also broke into unattended vehicles belonging to bank customers using a master key to steal cash kept inside.
The suspects subsequently led the police team to another hotel at Dechemso, a suburb of Kumasi, where Kingsley, alias KC, 35, also a Nigerian national, was arrested.
The remaining accomplice, Chinedu, alias Alhaji, is currently on the run. The Command is appealing to the public to volunteer credible information that could lead to his arrest. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to report to the nearest police station or contact the police through emergency numbers 191, 112 or the toll-free MTN and Telecel line 18555.
The suspects admitted to robbing a victim of GH¢15,000.00 at Asokore Mampong on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, after the victim had withdrawn money from Kwamang Rural Bank. They also admitted to similar robberies at the Atonsu branch of Fidelity Bank, the Ahodwo branch of Access Bank and other locations within Kumasi and its environs.
The three arrested suspects have since been handed over to the Ashanti Regional Police Command and are assisting with investigations.
The Command has cautioned bank customers to remain vigilant, be alert to suspicious persons around banking premises and avoid leaving cash or other valuables unattended in vehicles, while commending the public for their continued cooperation and assuring residents of its commitment to combating robbery and other criminal activities in the region.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
