Police have arrested three individuals for illegally mining directly along the main water transmission pipeline of the Ghana Water Limited (GWL) at Efutu, near Cape Coast.
The operation uncovered a well-established galamsey operation, threatening the region’s water supply.
The Central Regional Police Command carried out the special operation on Monday, June 8, 2026, acting on a formal complaint from GWL.
Those taken into custody are Eugene Oppong, 28; Paul Kumash, 30; and Amos Beyuo, 25.
Several other miners, however, fled the scene upon sighting the police, abandoning their equipment in a rush to escape.
Authorities recovered a significant cache of illegal mining equipment from the site, including 19 water pumping machines and associated water holes, four washing carpets used for gold extraction, seven cutlasses and one wheel barrow.
Items that could not be safely removed were immobilised and set ablaze on the spot, the police command confirmed in a statement on Monday.
All recovered equipment has been retained as evidence.
The three suspects remain in police custody and are assisting with investigations.
The incident has raised fresh concerns about the increasing encroachment of illegal mining on critical national infrastructure.
Mining activities near water pipelines risk contamination, structural damage, and disruption of potable water supply to communities in and around Cape Coast.
Neither Ghana Water Limited nor the Central Regional Police Command has yet commented on whether the pipeline sustained any damage.
