A dramatic defiance against government’s fight against illegal mining, also known as ‘galamsey’ was encountered by a taskforce of small scale miners in the Western Region where an armada of dredging boats were found openly on the river Ankobra In Prestea.
According to reports, when the taskforce got to the river bank, the boats could be seen lined up to as far as the eyes could see on the river bank decimating the water body.
Known as ‘Chang Fa’ the dredging boats are responsible for the pollution and discoloration of the waters of rivers that they dredge for gold.
The discovery comes after the small scale miners’ taskforce had rounded up and burnt 250 of suchlike boats in a two-day operation within Prestea and its environs.
One ‘Chang Fa’ boat is said to cost not less than Ghc15,000.
Members of the taskforce have said that they suspect faceless financiers behind galamsey as the ones behind the resurgence of the boats and their activities.
Apparently these unknown ‘galamseyers’ decided to multiply the presence of the boats and their activities in defiance of the earlier seizure and burning of dredging boats.
The taskforce managed to arrest three people on the river as part of the operation; two are said to have traveled to the Western Region from the Volta Region while is said to have claimed that he was only there to help pack machines.