Circuit Court Judge at Tarkwa, Hathia Ama Manu has sentenced two men from Nigeria to 20-year imprisonment for engaging in galamsey.
The two Nigerians are identified as Ayodele Jackson and Benjamin Obin, who were arrested at Bepoase, near Prestea in the Western Region.
The imprisonment terms will run concurrently.
The two men pleaded guilty to the charges where they claimed that unemployment and hunger pushed them to illegal mining to survive. They told the court they started engaging in galamsey three weeks ago before the arrest but unfortunately they were convicted on their own plea.
How it all happened?
The Prosecutor, Deputy Superintendant of Police (DSP) Juliana Dadzie told the court that two officers of the Minerals Commission made a complaint against the two Nigerians.
According to the two officers, they were on a routine patrol when they spotted the accused together with 15 other people engaging in illegal mining at Bepoase.
The miners fled upon seeing the officers but they managed to apprehend two, who were then handed over to the Police with their tools.
The Court concluded the two Nigerians had no excuses to justify their acts of destroying the environment. Hence, they have been sentenced to 20 years and after serving this they will be deported to Nigeria.
