Court refuses bail for 5 Chinese, 5 Ghanaian galamseyers
The Sekondi High Court has for the second time refused bail to 10 people accused of engaging in illegal mining on the Ankobra and Pra rivers in the Western Region.
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The court, presided over by Mr Justice Edward Amoako Atta, declined the application for bail by counsel for the accused and remanded them into prison custody. The accused are being represented in court by Messrs Stephen Alewabah and Samuel Ericson Abakah.
The refusal to grant bail was because the five Chinese among the accused are yet to get a certified interpreter as they do not understand the English Language to enable them to understand the court proceedings.
Accused persons
The accused, who are to reappear on April 24, 2017 are Dong Cheng, 30; Huang Juan, 51; Ning Guorui, 42; Ying Biquiang, 46; and Li Zilong, 44, all Chinese nationals. Their Ghanaian accomplices are Eric Owusu, 28; Kwabena Adjei, 50; Nana Adu, 42; Kwasi Owusu, 28; and Kofi Darko, 21.
The court also held that the police were yet to complete their investigations into the case, hence the need to remand the accused into lawful custody.
Court orders
The court also ordered that the equipment which were being used by the accused be impounded until the final determination of the case.
Mr Abakah told the media after the adjournment that the defence would still press for bail for the accused when hearing of the case resumed.
The Daily Graphic also learnt that officials of the Ghana Immigration service were yet to take statements from the accused regarding how they entered the country.
Background
Following an operation mounted by the Western Regional Police Command to flush out persons engaged in galamsey activities in river bodies, the five Chinese and five Ghanaians, who were allegedly mining gold in the Ankobra, were arrested at Bamiankor and Dumale in the region.
The police also siezed the equipment they used for the illegal operations.
Below are photos of the accused persons in court in Monday
..more to follow
