The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD), Sammy Gyamfi, has stated that the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has secured the Atwima Mponua Forest Reserve in a tactical operation in the Ashanti Region.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, September 18, 2025, he disclosed that the operation, which took place on Wednesday, September 17, was carried out by the NAIMOS task force in close collaboration with troops from the 4th Infantry Battalion of the Ghana Army and representatives of the Forestry Commission (FC).

The joint team stormed Anhwiafutu in the Nkawie Forest District of the Offin Shelter Belt at dawn, acting on local intelligence.

According to reports, the team chanced on fresh multiple excavator track marks across the community on arrival, suggesting that several machines had been moved from the area hours before the operation.

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“Acting on a tight-lipped local intelligence, the NAIMOS led armed forces arrived at the area at dawn, to witness signs of excavator tracks all over the community. The marks signaled that several machines had been clearly moved out of the area hours before the arrival of the task force,” he stated.

Evidence of widespread illegal mining was discovered at different sections of the forest.

The task force subsequently raided several locations within the reserve, retrieving and immobilising nine excavators.

They also seized two Toyota Hilux pickups and one Nissan pickup, which had been concealed in the forest.

“Some illegal miners on site fled on seeing the task force. The team consequently conducted series of raids within the forest destroying several makeshift structures at the sites. The team retrieved and immobilised 9 Excavators, ⁠seized 2 Toyota HILUX Pickups and 1 Nissan pickup,” he said.

In addition, the team set ablaze five ‘Chanfang’ machines, seven water pumping machines, several fuel dumps, old excavator engines, and other personal belongings abandoned at the illegal mining sites.

During the exercise, a house allegedly occupied by foreign Chinese illegal miners was also searched.

Investigations revealed that 12 Chinese nationals had been staying there but fled at dawn before the raid.

Items retrieved from the house included 18 excavator batteries, 31 buckets of grease, seven gas cylinders, a mini car washing machine, and an excavator radiator.

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Gyamfi said the nine excavators were immobilised due to the lack of low-bed trucks to transport them out of the community.

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