A joint anti-illegal mining operation led by the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has resulted in the arrest of 13 suspected illegal miners at Sanso in the Obuasi Municipality of the Ashanti Region.
The intelligence-led operation, conducted on 31 July 2026, was carried out in collaboration with the Ashanti Regional Security Secretariat and the 4th Infantry Battalion as part of ongoing efforts to clamp down on illegal mining activities across the country.
During the operation, the security team seized two excavators believed to have been used in the illegal mining operations. They also destroyed two water-pumping machines and two washing plants used to facilitate the extraction and processing of minerals.
Following their arrest, the 13 suspects were transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters in Accra for further investigations.
The suspects have since been arraigned before Circuit Court 7, which remanded them into police custody. They are expected to reappear before the court on 13 August 2026 as investigations and prosecution continue.
The operation forms part of NAIMOS’ sustained nationwide campaign to dismantle illegal mining operations, prosecute offenders and protect Ghana’s natural resources from further environmental degradation.
