By Saio Marrah
A man considered a supervisor of an illicit gold mining operation at Makai village in Kenema district has been granted bail by the police and released.
According to the Sierra Leone Police Information Officer for the Eastern Region, Inspector Brima James Musa, Daboh was arrested in a raid on the village by police officers, and personnel from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Precious Mineral Investigation Unit.
Officer Musa told the weekly Police press conference through online live streaming that the raid came as a result of a tip-off indicating that the villagers were conspiring with Ghanaian and Liberian nationals in illicit mining activity along the Moa River.
Three dredges discovered were dismantled and burnt, and Daboh was arrested but the other men, some operators of the machines, ran away upon seeing the team.
Storming of illegal gold mining sites along rivers, arrests, and burning down of dredges in various parts of the country are not new. On the 28th of January this year, the authorities found three dredges and set them ablaze at Yele Town in the Tonkolili district, while on the 5th of February, two dredges were also discovered in the same Yele, Gbonkolenken Chiefdom, in Tonkolili district, as well as in Bo district.
Several arrests were made but it was not clear as to whether they were charged to court or were similarly released on bail.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (15/06/22)
