NAIMOS Task Force Leads Major Anti-Galamsey Operation on Ankobra River
The NAIMOS Task Force, in collaboration with the Western Regional Security Council, the Western Naval Command, and the Nzema East Blue Water Guards, on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, carried out a large-scale anti-galamsey operation along the Ankobra River in the Western Region.
The operation, which spanned communities from Dwira Ashem through Dominase to Akango in the Nzema East Municipality, targeted illegal mining activities both on the river and along its banks.
According to the Task Force, the coordinated exercise involved simultaneous patrols, raids, and demolition of structures erected by illegal miners. While the Blue Water Guards and NAIMOS operatives focused on clearing encampments along the riverbanks, personnel from the Western Naval Command and the Regional Security Council concentrated on dismantling illegal dredging operations directly on the river.
The enforcement action, which forms part of a three-week campaign by the Task Force, resulted in the destruction and seizure of equipment used for illegal mining. Items destroyed or confiscated during the exercise included:
• 20 makeshift structures burnt
• 10 dredging platforms destroyed
• 20 chanfangs dismantled
• 4 motorbikes seized
• 15 pumping machines seized
• 2 solar panels seized
• 1 standing fan seized
• 1 television set seized
• 3 gas cylinders seized
Officials say the sustained operations are aimed at restoring the Ankobra River, which has been severely polluted by illegal mining, and protecting livelihoods in communities that depend on the river for fishing and domestic use.
The NAIMOS Task Force has indicated that similar raids will continue in other parts of the Western Region as part of its broader anti-galamsey strategy.
