A police investigator has defended the methods used in investigating the alleged illegal mining case involving former Ashanti Regional New Patriotic Party (NPP) Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako and Akonta Mining Company Limited, telling an Accra High Court that he inherited an incomplete case docket.
Detective Chief Inspector Akpo Glover said he carefully reviewed the existing records before proceeding with the investigation and denied making alterations to any part of the documents he inherited.
He made the disclosure while undergoing cross examination in the ongoing trial involving Boasiako and Akonta Mining Company Limited over alleged illegal mining activities in the Tano Nimri Forest Reserve in the Western Region.
The investigator, who has 17 years of policing experience, rejected claims by the defence that his knowledge of the case was based on “second-hand information.”
“My understanding of this case is as a result of various methods of investigation the police conducted. They include interviews with witnesses, visits to crime scenes, drone surveillance and review of documents,” he told the court.
Detective Chief Inspector Glover further testified that two prosecution witnesses had indicated in their caution statements that Akonta Mining had installed barriers and side poles within the forest reserve to restrict access to the area.
According to him, the restrictions allegedly prevented members of the public, including officials of the Forestry Commission, from entering the reserve.
He maintained that the findings of his investigations implicated both Boasiako and Akonta Mining in the alleged illegal mining operations.
The investigator also disagreed with defence counsel Samuel Atta Akyea over letters sent to the Western Regional Security Council concerning alleged illegal mining on Boasiako’s concession. The defence had suggested that the correspondence demonstrated that those involved were opposed to illegal mining.
Glover, however, insisted that agents associated with Boasiako and Akonta Mining had acted in their own interests within the Tano Nimri Forest.
He recalled that the letter in question was dated June 2021.
The court adjourned proceedings to October 27, 2026.
Boasiako and Akonta Mining Company Limited are facing charges relating to alleged mining activities in the Tano Nimri Forest Reserve without the required licence.
The prosecution alleges that approximately 300 merchantable trees were felled in the reserve and structures were erected without written authorisation from the Forestry Commission.
Boasiako, a 50 year-old entrepreneur, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is also serving a 20 year prison sentence for a similar offence.
By: Prince Martey-Sogar.