Ten Chinese illegal miners granted bail
The Accra Circuit Court has granted bail in the sum of GH¢50,000 each to the ten Chinese who are standing trial for illegally possessing firearms to mine illegally at Obuasi and its environs.
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The bail conditions require each of the accused persons to have two sureties, one to be justified.
Charges
They have pleaded not guilty to the charge of possessing firearms without authority. They made their plea through an interpreter.
They are Wei Hanwei, an earth moving equipment engineer; Huang Huan Kao and Meng Xing Gou, both mechanics; Zhang Xiong Fei, an engineer; Li Hia Jian, a mechanic; He Shi Lin, an engineer, and Lu Shu Ming.
The rest are Zhou Ping and Li Qichao, both mechanics, and Wei Guo Cai.
Background
According to the prosecution, the police received a report that some Chinese were engaged in illegal mining at Obuasi and its environs.
It said personnel from the National Operations Unit of the Ghana Police Service mounted an operation at Obuasi on May 9, 2015 and arrested the accused.
It added that a search conducted on their premises led to the retrieval of arms and ammunition and some equipment.
They included eight pump action guns, one locally-made pistol with four live ammunition, 21 live ammunition, 198 cartridges and communication equipment.
