A total of 47 foreign nationals have been rounded up by the presidential task-force against illegal mining at Dunkwa-on-Offin, in the Central Region.

Those arrested included Chinese and Indian nationals.

A search conducted revealed a substance suspected to be cocaine on one of the Chinese.

The foreigners were arrested in their hotel in the early hours of Tuesday.

The task-force, during the operation, destroyed 13 locally made machines belonging to some of the miners at two different locations.

At Kyekyewere, some of the illegal miners who took to their heels and crossed the Offin river upon seeing the team, started raining curses and insults on the personnel who were there to carry out the exercise.

They said that their involvement in the illegal mining operation was to support their livelihood.

The Central Regional Minister, Samuel Sarpong, who led the team, in an interview with reporters, said that the exercise was aimed at flushing out all illegal miners whose activities had destroyed all water bodies in the country including the Pra and Offin Rivers.

He said that the situation was so severe that efforts must be made to protect the land and water bodies, from total destruction.

He noted that the foreign nationals had the support of their local counterparts to destroy the nation’s natural resources.

The Central Regional Police Commander, Commissioner of Police (COP) Ransford Moses Ninson, told the media that, yesterday’s exercise was to take the illegal miners by surprise.

He promised that the exercise would be sustained in order to protect all water bodies and land in the region in particular, and the nation as a whole.

They have been transported to Accra by personnel of the Ghana Immigration Service for the necessary processes and deportation formalities.