NAIMOS, Blue Water Guards destroy Galamsey activities on River Pra
The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) continues to uncover and disrupt the activities of entrenched illegal mining networks that operate with impunity on water bodies, in clear disregard of national laws governing the environment and natural resources.
Despite the presence of local security, intelligence, and administrative arrangements, these activities persist.
On Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at approximately 0930 hours, personnel from the NAIMOS task force, in collaboration with the Akyem-Oda Blue Water Guards, conducted a joint operation to clamp down on illegal mining (galamsey) activities along the Pra River.
The intelligence-led operation was carried out between Ofoase Awona and Nsese villages in the Eastern Region.
The objective of the operation, conducted under tight secrecy, was to verify and disrupt ongoing illegal mining activities on the Pra River and destroy the infrastructure and equipment used by the galamseyers in their nefarious riverine activities, which had severely polluted the river and caused the shutdown of some water treatment plants.
The joint NAIMOS and Blue Water Guard task force commenced operations from Akyem Ofoase Awona Village in the Akyemansa District.
Personnel covered an estimated distance of approximately fourteen (14) kilometers on foot through cocoa plantations to access the riverbank of the Pra River.
Upon arrival at the river, the team encountered approximately fifty (50) illegal miners actively engaged in illegal mining activities directly on the Pra River.
On sighting the task force, the illegal miners abandoned their operations and swam across the river to the far bank near Nsese Village to evade arrest.
Subsequently, the joint task force proceeded to dismantle and destroy all equipment found at the site. In total, seventy-five (75) dredging Changfang platforms and fifty (50) gold washing platforms were destroyed.
Additionally, one hundred and fifty (150) Changfang machines on the riverbed were burned. Several pipelines and water hoses directly connected to the Pra River and used for mining operations were also destroyed.
Following the raids, the NAIMOS task force took the opportunity to interact with and sensitize the local population on the dangers and health implications of illegal mining.
The obviously excited inhabitants of the communities applauded the NAIMOS task force for their remarkable work and requested that the operations be sustained in the areas to help restore their water bodies and livelihoods.
It is worth highlighting that the existence of such entrenched illegal mining networks in remote communities operating with impunity raises serious security concerns that require immediate attention.
There is a need to reorient and augment current administrative and security arrangements in such remote communities to deter the activities of such emboldened criminal networks.
