A Koforidua Circuit Court presided over by Judge Burgess Lawson has remanded three suspects into police custody for their alleged involvement in illegal small scale mining within the Atiwa Range Forest Reserve. A Graphic Online report identifies the accused persons as Michael Anim and two others who were apprehended during a targeted operation by security agencies.
Prosecutors informed the court that the suspects were found operating within the legally protected forest zone without valid documentation from the Minerals Commission or the Environmental Protection Agency. According to a Ghana News Agency report the arrests were part of an intensified effort to protect national watersheds and prevent the destruction of endemic flora and fauna in the Eastern Region.
The suspects were officially charged with conspiracy to commit crime and mining without a license contrary to Section 99 of the Minerals and Mining Act as amended in 2019. A Citi Newsroom report indicates that the prosecution requested more time to conclude investigations and identify other accomplices who are currently at large.
Legal counsel for the accused persons applied for bail asserting that their clients would cooperate with the ongoing investigation and had fixed places of abode. However the court denied the application citing the gravity of the environmental charges and the risk of interference with evidence as reported by the Daily Guide Network.
The court has scheduled the next hearing for the suspects later this month to allow the police to finalize their witness statements and forensic reports. The Atiwa Forest remains a critical conservation area and the Ghana Police Service has maintained a presence in the vicinity to deter further illegal incursions into the reserve.