Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak - Minister of Interior, Ghana
Ghana has stepped up operations against illegal mining, arresting more than 1,000 suspects this year, as the government seeks to secure its vital resources sector from growing security threats, the interior minister said on Tuesday.
“Mining has become a front-line concern in the West African security landscape, owing to the increasing risk posed by illegal mining activities,” said Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak at the West Africa Mining Security Conference in Accra.
He said illegal mining had links to wider crime. “Illegal mining is a predatory offence for money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation of arms financing in Ghana and the sub-region.”
The Minister noted that, according to a national assessment, “64% of illicit and organised crime proceeds that pose a global security concern are linked to the environmental and natural resource crime, which includes illegal mining.”
He assured that the government of Ghana is intensifying enforcement to arrest the menace. “To combat this problem, Ghana has increased enforcement actions against illegal mining, including joint operations of military, police, and other security agencies and legal prosecutions,” Mubarak said.
He added that in 2025 alone, operations had led to “the arrest of over 1,000 suspects, including both Ghanaians and foreign nationals, seizures of over 600 excavators and chamfering machines, as well as nearly 500 water pumps. The prosecution of over 500 offenders, with several cases resulting in custodial sentences, fines, and forfeiture of equipment.”
“The government has strengthened its collaboration and cooperation with international partners and the sub-region through joint operations, intelligence sharing, and exchange programmes to build capacity of offices, as well as integration of technology in fighting crimes such as the use of surveillance tools and drones to monitor illegal sites,” he said.