NAIMOS arrests six suspected illegal miners in Savannah Region

The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has arrested six suspected illegal miners at Wakawaka in the Bole District of the Savannah Region after they allegedly returned to previously cleared sites to resume mining activities.

The operation, conducted jointly with the Northern Command of the Ghana Armed Forces between October 26 and 28, 2026, followed intelligence that miners had rebuilt infrastructure at the site despite an earlier enforcement exercise.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, October 28, NAIMOS said its task force found the suspects actively engaged in mining activities that were further damaging the surrounding environment.

The six suspects have been handed over to the police for further investigation.

Security personnel also seized equipment and materials believed to have been used in the operations, including a generator plant, an air compressor, water hoses, a saw machine, hammers, rubber mats, a solar panel and other mining items.

To dismantle the infrastructure supporting the activities, the task force destroyed seven air compressors and 58 makeshift structures at the site.

The latest intervention follows a similar joint operation at Wakawaka in July 2026, when NAIMOS, the Northern Command and the Savannah Division of the Ghana Police Service dismantled illegal mining infrastructure.

NAIMOS said the return of miners to the area despite the earlier exercise highlighted the difficulty of preventing illegal mining from resurfacing at previously cleared locations.

The Secretariat has urged residents to promptly report the return of suspected illegal miners, the movement of heavy equipment and attempts to rebuild mining infrastructure at sites previously cleared by security personnel.

It reaffirmed its commitment to sustained operations against illegal mining networks and to protecting the gains made through earlier enforcement exercises.