By Felix Cofie
The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has tightened its grip on illegal mining activities in the Eastern Region, launching a forceful operation on Sunday, December 7, 2025, that delivered yet another major setback to galamsey networks.
The day-long mission underscored government’s escalating resolve to reclaim lands, forests and rivers currently under siege from destructive mining practices.
From 07:00 to 20:00 hours, NAIMOS operatives patrolled key galamsey hotspots across the Atiwa West and Birim Central Municipalities, targeting operators who continue to defy national directives.
Along the Akyem Akropong stretch in Atiwa West, the task force uncovered a large roadside illegal mining enclave equipped with four excavators and five gold-washing machines.
Two of the excavators were intact, with complete control units and monitors, which were swiftly removed to disable the machines. The remaining two had already been stripped by the miners.
By late afternoon, around 16:10, hours the team stormed another active site at Akyem Oda in the Birim Central Municipality. There, they immobilised an additional excavator stationed right beside the main road.
What the task force found at these sites revealed the scale of destruction: deep, waterlogged pits spanning more than four acres, some stretching nearly 200 metres wide and plunging about eight feet deep.
The landscape had been torn apart, leaving toxic, unstable craters threatening nearby water bodies and farmlands. In all, NAIMOS successfully immobilised three excavators, removing their control units and monitors. The machines were left on-site due to unavailability of low-bed transport.
Field intelligence gathered during the operation paints a worrying picture—illegal mining along the Birim and Ayensu river systems remains a critical threat. Operators have adopted evasive tactics, often temporarily retreating when enforcement teams approach, only to resume mining once they believe the coast is clear.
This pattern has reinforced NAIMOS’s strategy of sustained, long-term deployment rather than sporadic raids.
Despite these challenges, NAIMOS’s presence is sending shockwaves through illegal mining networks across the Eastern Region.
Frequent patrols, rapid strike capability, and unpredictable deployment patterns have forced many operators to abandon their machines mid-operation, disrupting supply lines and weakening the organisational structures behind the illegal trade.
NAIMOS emphasises that its mission is far from over. With vital water bodies like the Birim and Ayensu still endangered, the task force says an extended field presence is crucial.
Illegal mining, it warns, is not only an environmental assault but a public health emergency—polluting rivers, contaminating food sources, and exposing communities to toxic extraction chemicals.
As the crackdown intensifies, NAIMOS’s message rings loud and clear: the state is firmly in control—and illegal miners are running out of places to hide.
