The Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene, has confirmed that armed illegal miners have once again invaded the Jimirah Forest Reserve and the Offinso Shelterbelt.
According to him, a police team, together with the regional task force on illegal mining, has been deployed to confront the situation.
This latest development comes just a month after a joint operation by the Ghana Police Service and the Forestry Commission led to the seizure of excavators from the Jimirah Forest Reserve.
Dr. Amoakohene made the revelation during a working visit to the Bekwai Municipality on September 5, 2025, where illegal mining activities were observed along the road leading to Kokotro.
Speaking to journalists, the regional minister urged citizens to play an active role in the fight against illegal mining by promptly reporting such activities to the National Illegal Mining Secretariat.
“We received the same information and immediately dispatched the police team on illegal mining to respond. Usually, when such reports surface in the media first, it becomes difficult to catch the perpetrators because by the time our teams arrive, they are gone. That is why we encourage citizens to call the secretariat directly so we can act swiftly and make arrests,” he said.
Dr. Amoakohene reiterated the government’s resolve to eradicate illegal mining popularly referred to as ‘galamsey’ from the Ashanti Region and the country at large, describing it as a destructive canker that must be uprooted.