Five people were found guilty of illegally mining and were given a total sentence of 100 years in jail with hard labour by the Tarkwa Circuit Court.
They are all illegal miners named Sampson Mele, Eric Bentua, Francis Nkubi, Timothy Kumordja, and Evans Larbi.
Despite the fact that the five denied committing the crime, they were all found guilty following a trial and sentenced to 20 years in jail with hard work.
Attorney Kingsley Agyekum, who was prosecuting, informed the court, which was presided over by Mrs. Hathia Ama Manu, that Nana Yaw Baako, an assemblyman from the Himan Electoral Area, was the complainant.
He said that the defendants resided in Ankobra, a neighbourhood in the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipality.
The complainant and five opinion leaders have knowledge that the accused were prospecting for gold nuggets in the Ankobra River on August 17, 2021, at about 1500 hours.
He said that after getting the tip, they travelled to the village of Kpoviadzi in the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipality and saw the suspects using a dredging machine to mine in the river.
As the dredge machine was being set on fire, they were swiftly detained and turned over to the police to aid in investigations.
