The Ghana Police Service has debunked claims that its enforcement of the government’s ban on illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as galamsey, is the cause of the ascendency of robbery in the country.

The Director-General of the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB), COP Nathan Kofi Boakye denied this claim on Thursday, 24th May 2018, at a media encounter in Accra.

He said, “There’s no correlation between illegal mining and robbery,” he said in response to a question.

The Akufo-Addo government imposed the ban on galamsey when it took office in 2017 as part of measures to combat illegal mining. Several mining equipment have been seized as a result of the campaign.

Some galamseyers including some Chinese, have also been arrested and either prosecuted or in the process of being prosecuted.