More than 18 chanfans and an excavator were destroyed when the military swooped on some illegal mining sites within the Atiwa East and West districts of the Eastern Region.
The swoop formed part of the escalation of "Operation Halt" announced by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, as part of the raft of measures deployed to bring the galamsey menace under control.
Spearheaded by officers and men from the 48 Engineers Regiment of Ghana Armed Forces, the exercise was undertaken in collaboration with a taskforce constituted by the Ghana Small Scale Miners Association.
The operation which was led by Colonel Eric Tenadu mainly targeted activities on the Birim River and its tributaries as well as the Atiwa Forest area.