The Attorney General has decided not to continue with the prosecution of Aisha Huang and four others who were standing trial for allegedly engaging in illegal mining at Bepotenten in the Ashanti Region.

This was after the AG filed a Nolle Prose qui process in court which means that the state was no longer interested in pursuing the matter and that the accused persons should be discharged by the court.

The court presided over by Mr Justice Charles Ekow Baiden therefore discharged Aisha aka galamsey queen and her accomplices.

Aisha’s accomplices are Gao Jin Cheng, 45; Lu Qi June 39; Habin Gao 26; and Zhang Pen 23 however Officials of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) rounded up Aisha and her accomplices, and whisked them away in a waiting vehicle.

Reliable sources told the GNA that Aisha and her accomplices would be deported immediately.

When sitting resumed on Wednesday at the Accra High Court, Ms Mercy Arthur, a Senior State attorney informed the court about a Nolle Prose qui process entered by the State.

The court after going through the process said: “The Republic does not intend to continue with the proceedings under Section 54 of the Act 30.”

It therefore went ahead to discharge all the accused.

Defence Counsel, Capt. Retired Nkrabeah Effah Dartey said the development has taken them by surprise and he hoped and prayed that the accused persons would not be re-arrested considering the distance the case has travelled.

“My Lord I am scared that right after the court sitting, my clients would be rounded up. I need to see the specific order made by the Attorney General,” Defence Counsel said.

The court after informing defence counsel that the order was signed by the AG herself, gave the process to him (defence Counsel) to ascertain it.

Aisha and her accomplices have been accused of undertaking illegal mining in the Ashanti Region.

She has also been charged for providing excavators to small scale mining companies around February 2015 to May 2017 without license from the Mineral Commission and also providing illegal employment to foreign nationals.

Based on that Aisha and her accomplices were rounded up by the Ghana Immigration Service in the Ashanti Region and consequently transferred to Accra for further investigations.

On May 2017, Aisha and her accomplices were put before the High Court in Accra where prosecution called eight witnesses.

Until now the case investigator was in dock giving his evidence in Chief.