Five Chinese nationals and their Ghanaian colleagues who were busted over the weekend for engaging in alluvial mining in River Ankobra, were not only polluting the river by washing mud into it, but actually doing the unthinkable – defecating into the same river that is a source of drinking water for Ghanaians living in that corridor.
A police source, which spoke to The Chronicle, said when they went on board the machine that had been designed like a vessel, they discovered that the Chinese and their Ghanaian collaborators had bathing and sleeping rooms, a kitchen and toilet facilities inside. This means that they ease themselves into river without blinking their eyes.
The illegal miners were, last Friday, busted at their hideout, during a special swoop undertaken by the Marine Unit of the Ghana Police Service (GPS), where it was discovered that the miners have not only been polluting our water through their illegal activities, but may have been inflicting diseases on the users of the Ankobra River water by way of defecating into it.
The five Chinese nationals arrested are Dong Cheng, 30, Hung Jiang, 51, Ning Guorui, 42, Yin Biguiang, 46, and Li Ziong, 44.
Their Ghanaian counterparts are Eric Owusu,28, Kobina Adjei, 50, Nana Adu, 42, Kwesi Owusu, 28, and Kofi Darko, 21. The suspects are currently on detention at the Sekondi Police Station, on orders of a High Court.
They were charged with the offence of illegal mining without a license when they appeared before the court, presided over by Justice Edward Asante Amoako. They are to reappear before the court on April 10.
Counsel for the accused, Mr. Stephen Aleowabh, argued before the court to grant his clients bail, because the charges preferred by the state against them were bailable.
But the state argued otherwise, insisting that it needed time to commence investigations into the activities of the accused persons, to determine whether or not they have a license to operate and resident permits to live and work in Ghana.
Items seized by the police during the swoop included heavy duty machinery used for gold extraction.
The arrest of the five Chinese nationals, including their Ghanaian counterparts, comes at the time shortage of water had hit the region, as a result of illegal mining activities.
<<Print>>