Pressure mounts over ‘dead’ Chinese illegal miners

Tongues are wagging in the country as to whether the four Chinese nationals who were arrested by the staff of the Forestry Commission on December 12, 2023, together with six Ghanaians for illegal mining in the Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve in the Western North Region had permits from the Ghana Immigration Service to work in the country.

Another question Ghanaians are seeking an answer to, is whether the unspecified quantity of gold seized by staff of the Forestry Commission from the arrested illegal miners, which was subsequently handed over to the police, has been assessed by the appropriate authorities in the country to determine its genuineness or otherwise.

Meanwhile, the Forest Services Division officials in the region have made it clear that the Chinese nationals did not have the required permit to operate a mining facility in the country.

The suspects were hauled before the Sefwi Wiawso Magistrate Court in the region and granted bail with sureties each.

One mystery that has not been unravelled is whether all the bail conditions were met to ensure that the Chinese nationals appeared in court till the case was concluded.

This included informing the appropriate authorities for them to ensure that the Chinese nationals were monitored properly so they do not leave the country.

Other issues Ghanaians are seeking an answer has to do with whether the passports of the Chinese nationals were seized pending the final determination of the case or they were allowed to hold on to the passports.

Ghanaians, therefore, want to know whether indeed the four Chinese nationals had sureties, and which people really stood as sureties for them.

The names of the four Chinese nationals were given as Men Shi Yu, 30; Weng Yong Cheng, 30; Wen FU Lin, 58; and Lee Pin, 60.

The six Ghanaians included two policemen, whose names were given as Edward Owusu, 25; Kwesi Frank, 42; Abudu Dramani, 41; and Joe Nabur, 27,  Detective Sergeant Yahaya Andrews and Lance Corporal Azantillow.

At the court’s third sitting on March 15, 2024, when the case was called, all six Ghanaians were present and the court noted that only two Chinese were present instead of the usual four.

The magistrate questioned the prosecutor on the whereabouts of the four Chinese nationals, and the prosecutor, Chief Inspector George Asante Noye, responded that two of them had died and had since been cremated.

The court, presided over by His Worship Eric Baah Boateng then ordered the prosecutor in the case to produce documentary evidence of the death and subsequent cremation of the two Chinese nationals at the next adjourned date of April 15, 2024.

The court also ordered the prosecutor to bring the sureties for the four Chinese nationals to court at the next sitting.

The case has also been forwarded to the Attorney General’s Department in Takoradi for advice.

Meanwhile, the Western North Regional Forestry Commission office has warned illegal miners to stay off forest reserves in the area since the law will not spare anyone who mines in the forest illegally.

The Regional Office has also appealed to residents to promptly report illegal mining activities in the reserves within their jurisdictions, for the necessary actions to be taken.

Edward Antwi, Assistant Regional Manager, Forest Services Division, Western North, who gave the warning said reporting illegal mining activities to the authorities by residents would complement the efforts of forestry guards who had been patrolling in the reserves.