A reverend minister and another person have been charged in the recent galamsey activities involving Chinese illegal miners in the country by an Accra High Court.
Rev. Wallace Dela-Brown, 59, and Wilberforce Essien have been charged with conspiracy to mine without a licence and contracting non-Ghanaians to perform mining operations and services without a licence granted by the minister.
They have entered not guilty pleas to the charges.
The court presided over by Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh, later admitted the two to bail in the sum of GH2 million each with two sureties.
According to the bail conditions, the sureties must have landed properties and be Accra residents.
Also read: Galamsey Kingpin considers another bail application
The accused must also leave their passports and passport photos with the court’s registrar.
They must also report to the police once a week.
According to the brief facts of the case presented to the court by an Assistant State Attorney (ASA), Derick Ackah, on September 8, 2022, police received information about illegal mining activities known as galamsey at Teleku-Bokazo near Nkroful in the Western Region involving some Chinese residents of Esiama.
He stated that based on the information gathered, the police conducted an operation at Esiama and arrested Chinese suspects Huang Qian Xi, LiJian Wen, Huang Qian Sheng, Shi Zhong Qi, and Wei LinXi.
He told the court that an excavator and other mining equipment were also seized.
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