Story By: Nii Okpoti Odamtten / Muhammad Faisal Mustapha…..
In a bold and uncompromising advance into one of Ghana’s threatened ecological frontiers, the National Anti Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has dismantled a deeply entrenched illegal mining enclave within the Nkawie Forest Reserve, delivering a powerful blow to galamsey operations along the Offin River.
The operation executed on Friday, 1 May 2026.stands as yet another testament to the strategic leadership of Hon. Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, whose policy direction continues to reinforce Ghana’s environmental governance, and the operational command of Colonel Dominic Buah, whose field leadership has sharpened NAIMOS into a relentless and adaptive enforcement force.
Acting on actionable intelligence, NAIMOS field operatives deployed into the Nkawie Forest Reserve in the Atwima Mponua District with a clear dual mandate: assess the environmental degradation and dismantle the illegal mining infrastructure embedded within the protected zone.
What they encountered was a sprawling network of mining activity concentrated along the Offin River a vital tributary whose ecological health has been significantly compromised by sustained galamsey intrusion.
“Forest reserves are not safe havens for environmental crime,” a senior NAIMOS officer asserted.
“Our mandate is to protect these ecosystems completely and without compromise.”
The arrival of the taskforce triggered immediate panic among the illegal miners, who abandoned their sites and fled into surrounding thickets. Their hurried retreat left behind a substantial cache of operational equipment, swiftly secured by NAIMOS personnel.
Among the items recovered:
* One pump-action firearm and five live cartridges
* Eight water pumping machines used in mineral extraction
* Extensive hose networks connecting mining pits to river channels
Determined to prevent any resurgence of activity, the taskforce executed a comprehensive destruction of the mining setup:
* Five changfang machines floating dredging platforms notorious for river destruction were burned
* Three wooden gold washing platforms were incinerated
* All water hoses were severed and destroyed
These actions were designed not merely as disruption, but as a calculated imposition of operational and financial loss on illegal mining networks.
“We are not just chasing miners we are dismantling the systems that sustain them,” an operations commander explained.
“Every destroyed machine is a step toward restoring our rivers.”
In a critical follow up sweep, operatives identified fresh excavator tracks disappearing into dense vegetation a clear sign of concealment efforts by fleeing operators.
The trails led to four excavators hidden deep within the forest, deliberately camouflaged to evade detection.
A technical inspection revealed that key components, including monitors, had already been removed a tactic frequently employed by illegal miners to protect high value parts from seizure.
However, NAIMOS went further.
To ensure the machines could not be reactivated, the in house excavator specialist removed additional critical components, including:
* Three control boards
* Four oil pumps
All retrieved components were secured, effectively rendering the excavators permanently inoperable.
“If they hide the machines, we will find them,” a field operative remarked.
“If they strip them, we will disable what remains.”
The Nkawie operation is part of a broader, sustained national effort to protect Ghana’s forest reserves and water bodies from irreversible destruction.
Under the stewardship of Hon. Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has intensified enforcement in ecologically sensitive zones, with a clear emphasis on long term environmental sustainability.
At the operational forefront, Colonel Dominic Buah continues to lead with precision and resolve, ensuring that NAIMOS interventions are intelligence driven, impactful, and strategically coordinated.
“This is a fight for Ghana’s environmental future,” a senior official emphasized.
“And we are committed to winning it decisively.”
NAIMOS has reiterated that no terrain whether riverbank, forest reserve, or remote enclave will be beyond the reach of enforcement.
“We will pursue environmental offenders into every concealed thicket,” the Secretariat affirmed.
“Ghana’s natural patrimony will be protected fully and without exception.”