Two Chinese nationals have been arrested for illegal mining on the Dankai River at Sanfo Adiam in the Amansie East District of the Ashanti Region.
The suspects, Lu Honggeng (53 years) and Nong Zisun (41 years) were picked up during a pre-dawn raid on Sunday, May 24, 2026, by the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), and the Blue Water Guards.
The joint Manso Adubia taskforce acted on intelligence about organised galamsey activity along the Dankai River.
Officers moved between 4:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m., using the cover of darkness to reach the site before operators could flee.
On arrival, the team found several individuals actively mining along the river.
Some Ghanaian operators, including one wielding a pump-action firearm, escaped into nearby bushes on sighting the taskforce.
The two Chinese nationals also attempted to flee but were chased down and arrested.
NAIMOS said the most disturbing discovery was the state of the Dankai River.
The illegal miners had blocked and diverted sections of the river into an artificial dam to channel water for mining and washing mineralised material.
“The deliberate reconfiguration of the natural flow of the Dankai represents a profound assault on the hydrological integrity of the river and on the rights of the downstream communities that depend on its waters,” NAIMOS stated.
The Secretariat added that the presence of a firearm at the site shows illegal mining operations in the area are becoming more dangerous, requiring sustained tactical readiness from security teams.
The arrested Chinese nationals have been taken to the NAIMOS Secretariat in Accra for further investigation.
They will be handed over to the Ghana Immigration Service.
NAIMOS said the illegal damming of the Dankai River has been disrupted and pledged to sustain operations in Amansie East and other areas “until the River Dankai and others are restored to their original states.”
The Secretariat warned illegal miners to stop activities that continue to destroy the country’s water bodies and forests.
