49 Suspected Illegal Miners Arrested After Armed Attack on NAIMOS Team in Western Region

Forty-nine suspected illegal miners were arrested after an armed ambush on a National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) team on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in the Western Region. The incident occurred when a NAIMOS operations team came under gunfire from suspected illegal miners actively operating within the Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL) plantation. The assailants fired multiple rounds from pump-action weapons at one of the taskforce's Zonda pickup vehicles.

Following the attack, NAIMOS launched a coordinated cordon-and-search operation in the early hours of Thursday at Adiewoso and surrounding communities in the Ahanta West District, resulting in the arrest of 49 suspects and the recovery of a pump-action firearm. Operatives also seized more than GH¢226,000 in cash believed to be proceeds from illegal mining activities. In total, 114 individuals were initially apprehended and taken to the Adiewoso Community Centre for screening. Three of the suspects are foreign nationals - Abdul Karim from Niger, and Nash Ishaku and Eliyasu Sie, both from Burkina Faso. Additional items recovered included GH¢140,000 discovered in a Toyota Raize belonging to one Daniel Avoka, as well as GH¢86,710 and two containers of small ball-like substances wrapped in paper and suspected to be gold, found in a white Toyota Hilux. Operatives also confiscated quantities of substances suspected to be Indian hemp, together with cartons of cigarettes believed to be linked to the illegal mining operation.

The 49 suspects have been handed over to the Agona Divisional Police Command for further investigations and possible prosecution. NAIMOS described the operation as a clear demonstration of its resolve to clamp down on illegal mining activities, particularly within legally acquired