ACCRA: More than 150 Chinese citizens arrested in Ghana for illegal mining will be deported next week but will not face criminal charges, an immigration official said yesterday.
The 169 arrests have been carried out since June 1 across the west African country and particularly in the central Ashanti region, a major gold-mining hub.
“I believe by the middle of next week we should have repatriated them,” Michael Amoako-Atta, a spokesman at the Ghana Immigration Service, said.
He had earlier said roughly 100 had been detained, but later said the figure had reached 169.
Amoako-Atta said some of the Chinese nationals were to be presented at a magistrates court yesterday in the capital Accra, where authorities would seek permission to detain them until they are sent home.
The group is being kept in a series of holding cells at an immigration building in Accra.
The arrests came a month after President John Dramani Mahama launched a task force to crack down on illegal mining.
Ghana is Africa’s second-biggest gold exporter, behind South Africa, but the sector is plagued by unregulated activity.
Many Chinese are involved in small-scale mining, often crossing illegally from neighbouring countries. Ghanaian law prohibits foreigners from engaging in small-scale mining.
There were no immediate indications that the looming deportations would have a wider impact on Ghana-China relations.
Ghana’s foreign ministry and Chinese officials in Accra were not available for comment.
AFP
