The Bekwai Circuit Court, presided over by His Honour Isaac Appiatu, has remanded 22 individuals into prison custody for their alleged involvement in illegal mining activities.
The accused persons are –Amadu Issah, 32, Aziz Sanfo, 27, Onore Zoehinga, 26,Bougonma Issah, 35,SoyobaOudrago, 30,SounoudaSawaldogo, 30,Rasmani Tiragoue, 25,Oudrago Malique, 25, ShizaOudrago, 20 and DiallaAbdoul, 23.
Others are DiallaShitta, 20; Rashid Sawldogo, 24; KaboreAbdoul, 18; Mohammed Kabore, 20; SawaldogoHarouna, 20 and BamojorBenzanin 20.
The rest are AdemaShanfo, 23; TijanShanfo; KaboreHusein; ZabreBashirou, 21; KanfandoMousa, 18 and AbdoulFatawu, 22.
All the accused persons were charged with the offences and arraigned before the court to face four counts of charges being Conspiracy to commit crime by undertaking mining operations without licence, which is Contrary to Section 23(1) of ACT29/60 and (99(2)(a) of Minerals and Mining ACT, (ACT 995) of 2019 as amended; Undertaking mining operations without licence from the Minister: Contrary to Section (99(2)(a) of Minerals and Mining ACT, (ACT 995) of 2019 as amended.
Accused IssahAmaduis facing two other charges; Prohibition of Trafficking: Contrary to Section (2)(1) of Human Trafficking ACT 694 of ACT, 2005 for recruiting, transporting and habouring three other accused persons to Esaase, by means of deception and abuse of vulnerability for the purpose of exploiting them to undertaken illegal mining. He is also accused of breaching Section 4 of ACT 694(ACT,2005) by using three accused persons as victims of humnan trafficking by engaging them in exploitative illegal mining.
The prosecution, led by ASP Lloyd BaidooEsq., told the court that, October 21, 2025at about 8am, District Security Council of Amansie West District picked intelligent that some foreign nationals were engaged in illegal mining at Esase.
A team of Security comprising, the Police, Immigration Service, Ghana Fire Service and NIB were dispatched to Esaase.
He said on arrival at the site the team met all the accused persons briskly undertaking illegal mining activities with changfa machines, upon which the accused persons were apprehended.
During interrogations, the accused persons, who were all Burkina Faso nationals, except first accused IssahAmadu, who is a Ghanaian, mentioned the name of one Martin, a Ghanaian, as their site owner, who pays them cedi equivalent of 5,000 CFA every month, but they could not lead the Police to the place of abode of the said Martin.
The prosecutor said on October 22, 2025 the first Accused came to MansoNkwanta station to say that three of the accused persons, namely A10, A11 and A12, who are Burkina Faso nationals, were his workers at his mining site at MansoEsase.
He was subsequently arrested and charged, after he failed to produce his mining licence to the Police, when he was requested to do so.
Further investigations revealed that, A1 does not have legal mining documents to operate yet he and his accomplices are operating thereby destroying the environment and water bodies in the locality.
The accused persons are to reappear before the court on November 7, 2025 whilst frantic effort are being made to apprehend the said Martin and two others now at large.
By Oswald P. Freiku, Bekwai
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