The Ghana Armed Forces and the Police Service have launched coordinated dawn raids across parts of the Ashanti, Volta, and Ahafo regions in a bid to arrest suspects involved in recent violent attacks on anti-galamsey officials and journalists.
A statement from the Department of Public Relations at the General Headquarters of the Ghana Armed Forces said the intelligence-led operations took place on Wednesday, 12 November 2025, in Dadwene and Anwona in the Ashanti Region, Ehi in the Volta Region, and Hwediem, Kenyase, Guaso, and Marhani in the Ahafo Region.
According to the statement, the raids aim to apprehend individuals linked to a series of attacks targeting members of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), police officers, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials, and journalists.
The latest action follows a violent incident on 1 November 2025, when the NAIMOS Director and his team were attacked at Hwediem in the Ahafo Region after intercepting illegal miners near Bronikrom. During that operation, security officers seized a Smith & Wesson pistol, two magazines, 21 rounds of 9mm ammunition, an unregistered Range Rover, an unregistered Toyota RAV4, and several mobile phones.
Police investigations later revealed that while the suspects were being transported to the Hwediem Police Station, a mob of about 600 people stormed the premises, vandalised the director’s vehicle, damaged parts of the station, and attempted to set it on fire.
In another attack on 6 November, an EPA team led by Chief Executive Officer Professor Nana Ama Browne Klutse, accompanied by journalists, came under fire from illegal miners at Dadwene near Obuasi.
Professor Klutse said the attackers “disguised themselves as police officers by wearing CID-branded uniforms.” The incident forced the group to retreat, and while taking an alternative route to Kumasi, the journalists’ vehicle collided with a KIA truck at Afari, injuring several people.
She added that although the team had military escorts, “the soldiers indicated they could not overpower the heavily armed illegal miners.”
Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin of the Ghana Navy, Acting Director General of Public Relations, warned that “any individual or group that attempts to obstruct the operations of any of the security services in their anti-galamsey operations or in the performance of any other lawful duty will face the full force of the law.”
The Armed Forces and Police Service assured residents of the affected areas that adequate measures had been taken to ensure their safety, urging them to remain calm and continue their daily activities without fear.
They also commended civil society groups, the media, and the public for condemning the recent violence and called for continued cooperation in the national fight against illegal mining.
