Over 163 suspected illegal miners otherwise known as galamsey operators including foreigners who continue to violate the ban on illegal mining in the country have been arrested by Operation Vanguard Taskforce.

2000 changfan machines used by these miners have also been seized and burnt according to details available to MyNewsGh.com while 33 of the arrested persons are currently before the law court and 129 cases are under investigation.

The commanding officer of Operation Vanguard Taskforce Chief Superintendent of police Mr. Ohene-Boadi Bossman who revealed this recently indicated that his command was doing everything possible to ensure that the water bodies are clean and the forest free from the activities of the illegal miners.

He, therefore, appealed to the police administration and the government to provide the Operation Vanguard with the necessary logistics such as lowbed trucks for the evacuation of excavators on site, speed boats to enable the men to fight the users of changfan machines whose activities mainly destroy and pollute the water bodies, vehicles both marked and unmarked for patrols and surveillance, night vision devices for night patrols as visibility is impaired most of the time officers embark on night patrols to check the activities of the illegal miners.

Operation Vanguard is a task force consisting of personnel from the various security agencies mostly the army and the police.

The task force formed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo – Addo some three years ago, was mandated to end illegal mining activities in the country’s forest reserves that were, directly and indirectly, destroying water bodies with fears the situation could get out of hand if it was not checked.