Ten arrested by forest guards for illegal activities in Afrensu Brouhuma Reserve

The Forestry Commission Task Force has arrested ten persons for farming in the Afrensu Brouhuma Forest Reserve in Offinso in the Ashanti Region.

The intruders have also built homes in what is supposed to be a virgin forest.

Routine patrol by forest guards uncovered the illegal activity of the farmers.

About fifty structures were destroyed during the operation. The Commission also seized over 50 chainsaw machines.

The Forestry Commission also impounded five motorbikes, three tricycles and arrested eight persons.

The law prohibits the construction of permanent structures and the establishment of farms in forest reserves without permission but the effects of illegal farming and chainsaw operators have depleted parts of the forest.

Ghana`s forest cover depleted from 8.2 million hectares in the 1980s to 1.6 million hectares in 2018.