Anti-illegal mining task-force, Operation Vanguard, led by Col Michael Amoah-Ayisi have arrested eleven illegal miners on the Tarkwa-Ayanfuri road in the Western Region.
The arrests, which took place on on Tuesday June 6, follow operations conducted between Ayanfuri and Bawdie.
The patrols included Forward Operating Bases from Ashanti, Central and Western Regions. The Task Force immobilised 158 changfans, 15 water pumping machines, a Kia Taxi with registration number AS 226-16, motorbikes and other mining equipment.
The Team also seized substances believed to be mercury as exhibits for prosecution.
The arrested persons and items seized were handed over to the Ayanfuri and Wassa Akropong Police Stations for further investigation.
The areas hit by the operation included Ayanfuri, Gyapa, Dompoase, Nkonya, Wassa Akropong, Bawdie, Epom, Ataase, Mampong and other towns and villages.
The arrested persons are Michael Tetteh, Abudu Razak, Albert Asamoah, Akwesi Buklow and Akose Iddrisu who have been handed to Wassa Akropong District Police Station.
Others who have been handed to the Ayanfuri Police Station include Hassan Sina, Samed Moro, Moro Jakalel, Abdul Seidu, Janet Danso and Veronica Mensa who are both female.
Leader of the operation, Col Michael Amoah-Ayisi, says the operation must serve as a strong warning to illegal miners across the country to desist from such acts.
According to him, once sanity is restored, it will enable government to structure the mining sector to allow sustainable mining.