Two Nigerians were given 20-year jail sentences by Tarkwa Circuit Court Judge Hathia Ama Manu for indulging in galamsey.
Ayodele Jackson and Benjamin Obin, were taken into custody in the Western Region in Bepoase, close to Prestea.
The two men who were convicted on October 7 pled guilty to the charges and stated that they had to turn to the galamsey business because they were hungry and without a job.
They claimed to have just been engaging in the activity for around three weeks prior to being arrested when testifying in court. Thus, they were found guilty based on their own admission.
The prosecutor, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Juliana Dadzie, presented the case's facts to the court, stating that two Minerals Commission personnel had filed a complaint against the defendant.
She claims that the accused and about fifteen other people were engaged in illegal mining activities at Bepoase with the help of two excavators, a washing plant, and a water pumping machine when the two Minerals Commission employees, Emmanuel Morrison and Bismark Mansoh, were conducting a routine patrol in the Prestea area.
The two cops were able to capture the two foreigners despite the fact that the miners ran when they saw them.
The pumping unit and one excavator control board were subsequently turned over to the police.
Even though the circumstances under which they had engaged in the illegal activity were "unfortunate," the court presided over by judge Hathia Ama Manu noted that "the country is at a point where our water bodies, especially those of us in the Western Region, have been destroyed due to illegal mining."
According to the court, the defendants had no justifications for damaging the environment.
Due to the seriousness of their offence, they received a sentence.
The two men were to be deported to Nigeria after serving their sentences, the court ruled.
The excavator, together with its control board and water pumping device, were also ordered to be confiscated and turned over to the state by the court. Their delivery to the Minerals Commission is scheduled.