AYV News, August 16, 2023
The Government of Sierra Leone, through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has destroyed and set ablaze twenty dredges operated illegally along the Pampana River in the Tonkolili district.
This according to the EPA is part of a crackdown mission instituted by the leadership of the Agency to wipe out all dredges along the rivers of Sierra Leone.
The Agency said: “On our arrival at the scene, the dredge miners tried to escape with the dredges but with the aid of our JetSkies, we were able to overpower them and carry out the successful operation.
“After the miners flew away, we discovered at some of the dredges Ghanaian passports with Sierra Leone Immigration clearances to stay in the country”.
The EPA said dredge mining is causing pollution in the country’s waterways thereby causing problems for communities downstream, adding; “Our operation in the North follows another successful one in Kenema and Bo districts where we burnt down twenty Seven (27) dredges”. The operation continues.
