According to the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), task forces destroyed 1,970 chanfangs and 863 makeshift structures during 738 operations conducted between June 13 and September 30, 2026. Colonel K.S. Appiah, the Director of Operations at NAIMOS, stated that these efforts were part of a strategy to protect water bodies from illegal mining activities across several regions, including the Western, Western North, Central, Eastern, Ashanti, Bono, Savannah, and Northern areas. During these operations, task forces also recovered 74 firearms and 551 rounds of ammunition, alongside various pieces of mining equipment such as excavators and water pumps. Colonel Appiah noted that suspects apprehended during these activities were handed over to the appropriate authorities for investigation. He explained that equipment is often destroyed on-site due to the logistical difficulty of transporting heavy machinery from remote river locations. NAIMOS maintains that these operations are essential to disrupting the infrastructure that supports illegal mining.
Update (21:10 GMT): MyJoy News also reported on this story under the headline "NAIMOS destroys 1,970 chanfangs, 863 structures in anti-galamsey operations". Read the MyJoy News report.