Eight confirmed National Security operatives in the Assin Fosu Municipality arrested for allegedly robbing some illegal miners of gold, cash and mobile phones at Awisam, have been granted police inquiry bail.

Two of the suspects had since been confirmed to be sons of prominent politicians from the ruling government in the area.

In July 2025, the police in Assin North District arrested two suspected National Security officers and one other person for allegedly posing as operatives to extort money at an illegal (galamsey) site.

However, with the current arrest, sources in the community told Ghana News Agency that the group had stormed the community in a black Mitsubishi pick-up (GS 8293-18) and a Toyota Voxy.

Corroborating that, some victims of the alleged incident mentioned to the media that the group seized an excavator, an unspecified quantity of gold, cash and mobile phones from the miners during the said operation.

According to them, the incident sparked outrage among residents who accused the suspects of repeated extortions disguised as state security operations.

Frustrated by the turn of events, some community members confronted the National Security Personnel, deflated their vehicles’ tyres, and attempted to lynch them.

However, they said a timely intervention by the Mmrantehene of the community calmed the situation and handed the suspects over to Assin Awisam police.

Shortly after, hundreds of angry youth in the community besieged the station, but the Central North Regional Police Command’s urgent reinforcement restored order, after which the suspects were transferred under tight security to Assin Fosu for further interrogation and investigation.

However, some police sources said preliminary police interrogations revealed that the suspects had admitted to taking mobile phones for exhibit purposes but denied stealing gold.

One local youth described the incident as part of a pattern, alleging that the same group had harassed miners repeatedly.

He claimed they had previously extorted money and last year, set ablaze a miner’s water DAF excavator engine after he failed to meet their demands despite paying GH¢120,000.

The youth warned that the seemingly ongoing extortions disguised as anti-galamsey operations could escalate community tensions without swift action from authorities.

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Eight National Security operatives caught stealing from illegal miners granted bail

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