A Chinese national and six Ghanaians have been apprehended by the Bekwai Forestry Commission for engaging in illegal mining known in local parlance as galamsey.
District Manager, Ernest Adofo speaking to Adom News said the suspects were caught in the act in the Oda Forest Reserve in the Amansie Central district of the Ashanti region.
Upon the arrest, the authorities took a decisive action by setting ablaze six excavators used by these illegal operators.
The individuals taken into custody include: Michael Corsa (28), Basit Shiizu (28), Amadu Musah (37), Prince Boakye (20), Amedodzi KOFI (30), Akwasi Adu (30), all of whom are Ghanaians, and Shi Tianchao, a 44-year-old Chinese national.