Forest guard allegedly shot by illegal miners

John Baba Konlan, a member of the Forestry Commission’s (FC) Rapid Response Unit (RRU), is said to have been shot in the head and back.

He was allegedly hit by unidentified illegal miners in the Western Region’s Cape 3 Points Forest Reserve.

According to the Takoradi Forest District Office of the Forest Services Division, several illegal miners were operating in the Reserve near the Morrison Community.

A team of nine personnel, consisting of Rapid Response Unit personnel and Forest Guards, was swiftly dispatched to the spot to determine the authenticity or otherwise of the report.

When they arrived at the Reserve, three members were left in the operation vehicle, while the remainder hiked for over an hour through the forest to the illicit mining location.

The team members noticed a dugout pit with illegal miners busy doing “dig and wash” from a distance.

The team members agreed to use separate routes to encircle and arrest the illegal miners.

According to one of the team members, he heard gunshots a few minutes after they had taken their own routes to the pit and so became vigilant, looking for signals of danger.

He proceeded forward a little and spotted the illegal miners fleeing into the forest, leaving their tools behind.

He stated that a few minutes later, he heard one of his team members screaming and calling out to the rest of the team members to rush to the help of Mr. John Baba Konlan, who had been shot.

They took him to the Effia Nkwanta Government Hospital in the Western Region.

He was referred to the Cape Coast Regional Hospital for additional treatment.

He was then referred to the University of Ghana Medical Centre in Accra, where he was hospitalised.

He has since been dismissed and told to return in two weeks for a review.