Two foreign nationals arrested in pre-dawn anti-galamsey raid in Ashanti Region

The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) executed a pre-dawn enforcement raid on Sunday, 24 May 2026, at Sanfo Adiam in the Amansie East District of the Ashanti Region, arresting two Chinese nationals. The operation was conducted in tandem with the Blue Water Guards between the hours of 0400 and 0700.

The Chinese operators had blocked and diverted vital sections of the Dankai River into an artificial dam. NAIMOS operatives observed several individuals actively washing mineralised materials directly in the riverbed. One fleeing local operator was spotted wielding a pump-action firearm. The apprehended suspects have been identified as Lu Honggeng, aged 53, and Nong Zisun, aged 41. NAIMOS authorities noted that the presence of a pump-action gun in civilian hands demonstrates the increasingly hostile and weaponised nature of illegal mining enclaves within the Amansie East enclave.

The two Chinese suspects have been escorted under armed guard to the NAIMOS National Secretariat in Accra for comprehensive interrogation, after which they will be formally handed over to the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) for immediate legal processing and deportation review. The NAIMOS Secretariat has assured the public that the illegal blockades, structural dams, and artificial channels erected along the Dankai River have been completely dismantled and disrupted. The Secretariat stated that it would maintain a permanent, high-alert presence within the Amansie East District and surrounding forest reserves over the coming weeks and months.