Accra, Nov 9 (IANS) Two Indians wrongfully arrested as illegal migrants and suspected of unlawful mining have been released, the Indian High Commission has said in a letter released to the media Saturday. They were found to be legally resident in Ghana.
The two Indians were arrested along with some 45 Chinese and people of other nationalities by security agents trying to flush out miners engaged in the banned activity.
Deputy High Commissioner Ajaneesh Kumar said in the letter: “Checks at the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) confirmed that the two Indians were legally resident in Ghana.”
“Each of them has a valid permit stamped in their documents,” Kumar said, adding that, at the time of the arrest, the Indians were very much legal residents of Ghana and were in their hotel rooms.
Last month, Central Region Minister Samuel Sarpong told the media that a security operation by the Presidential Taskforce against illegal mining at Dunkwa-on-Offin had led to the arrest of 47 foreign nationals.
At the time, media reports said, those arrested included Chinese and Indian nationals. Reports said a search revealed a substance suspected to be cocaine on one of the Chinese.
The task force destroyed 13 locally made machines belonging to some of the miners at two different locations. At one of the illegal mines at Kyekyewere, also in the Central Region, some of the foreign miners took to their heels and crossed the Offin river when the Taskforce appeared.
They said that their involvement in the illegal mining operation was to support their livelihood.
Sarpong, who led the team, said the exercise was aimed at flushing out all illegal miners whose activities had destroyed water bodies in the country including the Pra and Offin Rivers, adding that, the situation was so severe that efforts must be made to protect the land and water bodies from total destruction.
Two months ago, over 100 Chinese nationals, without resident permits, were arrested for engaging in illegal mining in the country and deported from the country.