In a decisive series of operations in the Eastern Region, the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has disrupted multiple illegal mining sites, destroyed equipment, and arrested foreign nationals, signaling a firm crackdown on activities that have long threatened rivers, farmlands, and communities.
The operations, conducted between 16 and 17 January 2026, have already changed the dynamics of illegal mining along the Birim River basin and its surrounding areas.
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On Friday, 16 January, the NAIMOS task force, working alongside the Blue Water Guards, stormed Apoli Beposo in the Akim Oda Swedru District. Focused on the Birim River, the team encountered illegal miners working directly in the water. On sighting the operatives, the miners abandoned their activities, swimming across the river to escape.
The task force retrieved four (4) chanfan machines and burnt them on the riverbank, halting the pollution of the river and giving local farmers and residents a temporary respite from water contamination. Intelligence gathered suggests that this operation has forced many miners to stop working directly in the river.
Later the same day, NAIMOS moved to another site at Apoli, where three (3) Chinese nationals, Yug Rucheng, Qin Can, and Yang G. Lane, were arrested for illegal mining. The task force seized a blue Zonda vehicle and also destroyed all makeshift structures found at the site. The arrested suspects were escorted to Accra for further investigations under a strong security detail.
On Saturday morning, the task force targeted Nyafoman in the Birim North Municipality, a site notorious for hazardous mining practices. Most of the miners fled before the team could apprehend them. The operation resulted in the destruction of several chanfan machines, makeshift structures, and other equipment. Findings revealed that many of the miners were foreign nationals, mainly Burkinabe, using dangerous chemicals like cyanide to extract gold, posing severe environmental and public health risks. The task force emphasized that this site requires constant patrols to prevent illegal mining from resuming.
Later in the day, at Domeabra in the same municipality, NAIMOS again forced illegal miners to abandon their operations. Two (2) excavators were found on site: one (1) already immobilized by the miners and the other partially stripped of essential components, making it inoperable. The presence of the task force in the area has already discouraged several operators from returning, demonstrating the effect of sustained enforcement.
NAIMOS notes that these operations have inflicted financial losses on illegal miners, disrupted their logistics, and restored some order to rivers and surrounding lands. Looking ahead, the Secretariat plans to enhance river patrol capabilities by providing life jackets, speed boats, and hardboard boats to field teams. Furthermore, the permanent deployment of NAIMOS field operatives in hotspots across the Eastern Region is being considered to ensure that gains are sustained, and that illegal mining does not resume along the Birim River or in surrounding communities.
The Eastern Region crackdown shows a clear shift in NAIMOS’ approach: combining intelligence, rapid response, and permanent presence to make illegal mining a high-risk, low-reward activity while protecting the environment and livelihoods of local residents.
