Missing excavators traced to fresh galamsey sites

It has been discovered that scores of the allegedly missing excavators seized from illegal miners are currently being used again for illegal mining by unknown persons, MyNewsGH.com reports.

This comes after Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology & Innovation and also Chairperson for the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) made an official complaint to the police for investigation.

Ghanaians have been full of disbelief following disclosure that recently that most of the excavators that were seized from illegal miners had vanished from their parking yards.

It has been revealed that the excavators were taken by powerful persons to use on their own concessions without knowing the original owners had installed trackers on their excavators as a backup against theft.

The owners traced some of the excavators to Navrongo, to Beposo to Tarkwa Nsuaem and in a yard in Tema.

Arrests

The Criminal Investigations Department yesterday picked up the New Patriotic Party’s Central Regional Vice Chairman, Horace Ekow Ewusi for his alleged involvement in the missing excavator's saga that has hit the Akufo-Addo government.

Ekow Ewusi who was one of the caretakers of the seized excavators is believed to have facilitated its transportation to various locations including Tema for use, according to sources at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).

Meanwhile, President of the Concerned Small Scale Miners Association Michael Kwadwo Peprah says they are willing to help government retrieve more of the ‘missing’ excavators.

According to him, the Association has been able to trace some of the ‘missing’ excavators to Navrongo where they are in the possession of one Alhaji who claims the machines were sold to him.

Other machines, he alleged are being rented out to illegal miners.

“So if somebody is engaging in illegality per what they are saying, and then you seize the machine leaving all these pits behind and then these machines are sold or given to another prospective galamsey miner, then what is the point?” he queried.

Aside from the excavators, pickups, and cars seized by the authority in an effort to clamp down on galamsey activities have also allegedly gone missing.