The Forestry Commission in Bekwai, Ashanti, has raided the camp of illegal miners who were mining in the night in the Oda River Forest Reserve. Two Ghanaian illegal miners, Frank Oppong, aged 39, and Akwasi Gyedu, aged 42, were arrested in compartment 30 of the reserve, near Bunso. They had mounted lights and were actively mining the forest reserve. The Bekwai Rapid Response Team, which carried out the operation, burnt two excavators, two power plants, one motorbike and a tricycle used by the miners.
A ten-unit structure erected at the site was also destroyed.
A ten-unit structure erected at the site was also destroyed. The Oda River Forest Reserve has come under attack by illegal miners in the past with large tracts of forest destroyed.
The Bekwai District Manager of the Forestry Commission told Luv News that his outfit is strategising to protect what remains of the reserve.