The Ellembelle Police have retrieved one of the excavators that were reported missing from Ellembelle, in the Western region.
This comes after days of intelligence operations, police say.
“A team of operations and intelligence officers working day and night discovered the missing excavator several kilometres into a forest within the Ellembelle District,” police said in a statement on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, police have arrested the DCE of Ellembelle, Mr. Kwasi Bonzo and three others for attempting to obstruct the operations.
“While the team of police officers were escorting the excavator to Takoradi, at the Axim Junction, the DCE of Ellembelle, Mr. Kwasi Bonzo organised and led some thugs to attack the police and obstruct the operation. The DCE and three others were therefore arrested accordingly.”
Police said investigation is still underway to recover the other excavator and arrest all those behind it to face justice.
Background
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Ellembelle in the Western Region, Kwasi Bonzo, recently accused the Esiama Divisional Police Command over two missing excavators from the site of illegal mining, popularly known as ‘galamsey”, near the Nkroful Senior High School (SHS).
Briefing journalists on Thursday at Teleku Bokazo, Mr Bonzo expressed worry that brand new excavators retrieved from a ‘galamsey site’ in the custody of the police vanished.
Meanwhile, the Western Regional Police Command in its rebuttal, said the police did not take custody of any excavators as alleged by the DCE.
A statement signed by the Head of Police Public Affairs Unit in Western Region, Superintendent Olivia Ewurabena Adiku, on Saturday, said “We wish to categorically state that no excavators were handed to the police by the DCE, Mr Kwasi Bonzo, or any other person from the assembly.”
