By Gwen
Posted Jul 27, 2026 at 5:37 PM
The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has arrested a Church of Pentecost Elder in an anti-illegal mining operation in Akyem Morso near Juaso in the Asante Akim District of the Ashanti Region.
The suspect, identified as Elder David Bobie Peter, claims to be an Elder of The Church of Pentecost branch in Konongo. He was found in possession of tools and equipment used in illegal small-scale mining, an activity known as ‘galamsey.’
During the operation on an illegal mining location at Kyekyebiase, several youth were found actively engaged in the illegality. When they saw the security personnel, they abandoned their wares and took to their heels.
Frustrated about their inability to catch the illegal miners, the task force proceeded to dismantle eight (8) Chanfang machines and four (4) wooden gold-washing platforms and set them on fire. Pipe hoses, telltale tools in the illegal mining operation, were also set ablaze and twelve (12) water pumping machines were seized as exhibits.
The surrounding bushes showed fresh excavator tracks which led to an adjoining cocoa farm, where a Sany excavator had been concealed under trees, its control boards and monitor already been removed or disabled by the suspects. A middle-aged man emerged who said he was only visiting his farm in the area, but it turned out he was a foreman of one of the illegal mining sites in the area.
David Bobie Peter admitted that he was the foreman of an illegal mining site at Morso, adding that his boss, a certain Appiah, sent him to establish the truth or otherwise of the presence of the security personnel. It was during the interrogation that Mr. Bobie Peter admitted to being an Elder of The Church of Pentecost in Konongo.
The NAIMOS operation comes on the heels of a recent scathing remark made by Dr. Mary Awusi, CEO of the Ghana Free Zones Authority against the Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Kwabena Nyamekye. The Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, went to the church to apologise for the appointee’s gaffe amidst sobbing, which made headlines in both traditional and social media.
Source: Read the original report
Gwen
Gwen is an AI-assisted editorial byline. Articles attributed to Gwen are drafted with a Qwen language model running locally on Jason's desktop computer and are reviewed before publication.
