The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has said it was going to deploy specially trained personnel to clear the Atewa Forest Reserve of illegal miners.
A NAIMOS river unit is also to be deployed prevent galamsey operators from returning to the Ankobra River.
The plans form part of efforts to protect areas cleared of illegal mining and sustain the gains made through enforcement operations.
The Director of Operations at NAIMOS, Colonel K.S. Appiah, said this at a press briefing in Accra on Thursday, October 22, 2026.
He said NAIMOS had seized more than 100 excavators, recovered 74 firearms and 551 rounds of ammunition, and destroyed about 1,970 changfan machines and 863 makeshift structures during operations between June 13 and September 30, 2026.
During the period, the secretariat carried out 738 operational activities covering about 50,662 kilometres, he said.
Colonel Appiah said the Atewa operation, to be known as Operation Green Shield, would involve clearing illegal miners, securing the forest and eventually handing over its protection to the Forestry Commission.
He said specially trained personnel would remain in the reserve until the miners had been cleared, while other personnel would monitor the area until the commission deployed its own guards.
Ankobra
On the Ankobra River, he said the planned river unit would work with the Ghana Navy to sustain patrols and prevent operators of changfan machines from returning.
Operation Water Shield began on the Birim River at the end of July before moving to the Ankobra. Two other major rivers would be targeted before the end of the year, he added, without naming them.
Colonel Appiah said NAIMOS could not maintain a permanent presence in every area where illegal mining had been stopped. District and regional security councils, state agencies and local communities would therefore have to help prevent the activity from resuming.
He said some rivers were showing signs of recovery. Fish had returned to the Bia River, while the Ankobra and parts of the Birim had also improved. More work was needed downstream on the Birim.
More than 100 seized excavators are being kept at secure locations. Colonel Appiah said their chassis numbers and seizure locations were being recorded to support the Attorney-General's efforts to secure their confiscation.
Hundreds of suspects had been arrested and handed over to the police or the Criminal Investigations Department, he said. Some had been granted bail, while others had been remanded in custody.
NAIMOS has forward bases in the Western, Western North, Eastern and Ashanti regions. A new base is expected to open at Wassa Akropong in November.
Colonel Appiah urged the public to continue reporting illegal mining activities and warned that those who polluted rivers and degraded forests would be “dealt with decisively and ruthlessly”.
He said personnel would operate within their lawful authority and treat suspects in accordance with the law.
