Rampaging residents threaten to set 'galamsey' equipment ablaze

A timely intervention by some elders prevented angry youth of Nwineso Number One in the Ashanti Region from setting ablaze mining equipment belonging to defiant illegal miners.

Protesting residents marched to the site on Tuesday in a bid to carry through an earlier threat to burn the machines if the miners refuse to leave the area.

Excavators, water pumps and generator sets are among property targeted for destruction by in the farming community in the Atwima Kwanwoma District.

The Police Special Weapons and Tactics Unit arrested eleven miners, led by Kofi Adu, in a special operation.

Earlier, police had intervened to halt what could have been a bloodbath after residents decided to arm themselves in a move to attack the illegal miners.

The protesters, mostly farmers, have vowed to protect their lands against mining activities.

They say the move is to prevent the miners from re-grouping to perpetrate their activities again.

One of the protesters, Augustine Nsiah told Nhyira FM the action is to ensure the illegal miners completely leave their land.

He said the community has given the illegal miners up to the end of this week to move their equipment out of the community.

Meanwhile, preliminary police investigations reveal the miners have no permit for their operations as police arraign the suspects before the court.

DSP Abdulai Iddrissu is Second-in-Command of the SWAT Unit.

“As I am speaking right now, no document has been produced to us and that actually called for investigations so those arrested are being processed," he said.

He explained that once they go to the court they will prove if they have adding "intelligence gathering is a continuous process,” he emphasized.

DSP Iddrisu tells Nhyira FM the miners have up to Thursday to move out with their machines.