Sixty-eight illegal miners between the ages of 20 and 39, and mostly foreigners are in the custody of the Ghana Immigration Service in Takoradi for plying their mining trade in Ghana without complying with the rules and regulations.

The suspects made up of 59 foreign nationals from Benin, Niger and Burkina Faso with the rest being Ghanaians, were arrested on Tuesday by a joint operation between the Personnel from the Immigration Service and the Mpohor District Security Council.

Assistant Commissioner of Immigration, Mrs Beatrice Okpoti said the illegal miners were apprehended at different sites and later assembled at Adumbanso in the Mpohor District.

She noted that the arrest would help consolidate the gains in the fight against illegal mining, safe the country’s water bodies from further pollution.

The Assistant Commissioner said a task-force was deployed into the area to help fight and sustain the successes chalked in the fight against illegal mining.

Assistant Commissioner Okpoti called on community leaders and inhabitants to join hands with the team to fight the canker and save the environment, water bodies, protect national assets and lives by volunteering information on the hideouts of the illegal miners.

The Operation Vanguard, constituted some months back, continue to undertake tremendous surveillance leading to arrest of illegal miners.

Meanwhile, the 68 suspects and items seized from them are in the custody of the Immigration Service for further investigations and possible prosecutions.

Source: GNA