17 ARRESTED FOR POLLUTING RIVER PRA (BACK PAGE)

Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Sekondi

SEVENTEEN people who allegedly engaged in illegal gold winning activities in the Pra River at Atwenboanda in the Mpohor-Wassa East District of the Western Region have been arrested by the police.
The suspects, whose ages range between 18 and 50, were said to be using cyanide and mercury in their quest to extract gold, thus polluting the river.
They are among a number of people whose activities have been described by the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) as dangerous to the lives of thousands of people in the Shama and Mpohor-Wassa East and West districts, as well as the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis
One of their leaders, Alfred Ameglah, was among those arrested.
Equipment used for their activities, including unlicensed guns, were seized and the police are looking for three other leaders, whose names were only given as Godwin, Innocent and Kodze.
According to the Western Regional Police Commander, Mr M.A. Alhassan, the police and other members of the REGSEC moved in because the lives of the citizens were under a serious threat, adding that there was the need to take proactive measures instead of waiting for harm to be visited on the consumers.
He said 16 of those arrested confessed that they were recruited from various parts of the Volta Region by their leaders, including Ameglah, to engage in the illegal mining.
Mr Alhassan said the suspects would be arraigned for mining illegally and posing danger to the lives of people along the river.
He said arrangements were being made with the Western Naval Command to help remove ‘rigs’ mounted by the suspects on the river.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Public Relations Officer of the GWCL in charge of the Western Region, Mr Sampson Ampah, said the illegal miners allegedly took permission from some chiefs with accompanying monetary rewards, before they were allowed to operate.
He said the water diversion walls constructed by the company in the middle of the river to redirect water flow to collection points had also been damaged by the illegal miners.