On Monday, 9 February 2026, between 1800 hours and 2030 hours, the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), conducted an intelligence-led raid on an illegal mining site at Anbanzie in the Nzema East District of the Western Region.
The night operation led to the arrest of four armed illegal mining thugs.
During the operation, the NAIMOS operatives encountered some resistance from a group of about 15 individuals armed with cutlasses and wearing cowries around their bodies, who attempted to block the taskforce convoy from accessing the illegal mining site.
The aggressive thugs attacked the NAIMOS operatives while performing their lawful duties.
The taskforce responded swiftly and professionally, thereby overpowering the attackers and arresting four while the rest fled.
The taskforce subsequently raided and destroyed the illegal mining setup.
The following four suspects among the thugs were arrested:
- Massawudu Alhassan – 34 years
- Zuberu Ahmidu – 32 years
- William Boateng – 28 years
- Ernest Abeka – 22 years
The taskforce’s preliminary interrogation revealed that the suspects were part of a larger group employed by the site owner to guard the illegal mining operations.
The suspects further disclosed that approximately 28 thugs had been recruited for this purpose.
The arrested suspects have since been handed over to the Salma Police Station to assist with further investigations and prosecution.
Commenting on the raids and the actions of the thugs, the NAIMOS Director of Operations warned all illegal mining networks and thugs to desist from such attacks, emphasising that members of the Taskforce would defend themselves at all times by dealing ruthlessly with any such resistance.
