Operation Vanguard in numbers: The story so far
Isaac Yeboah
As many as 1,031 arrests have so far been made by the anti galamsey task force, Operation Vanguard since it was set up to enforce the ban on illegal mining and the suspension of small scale mining in the Ashanti, Eastern and Western regions.
Of the number, 401 were arrested in the Ashanti region, 381 in the Western region and 249 in the Eastern region, all coming out of the 673 operations so far undertaken by the task force.
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Eighty-seven assorted arms, along with 1,382 ammunition were also seized, just as 274 water pumps, 173 excavators and 60 vehicles.
The joint police/military task force was established on July 31, 2017 to stop illegal and small scale mining after media exposes showed persistent and widespread destruction of forests, farmlands and water bodies, along with tragic accidents that claimed several lives.