No fewer than 15 suspected illegal gold miners have been apprehended by men of the Ondo State Security Agency Network (Amotekun) over their illegal mining activities in the state.
The suspects who were arrested at various locations in Owo Local Government Area of the state, by the men of the Amotekun corps in the state in collaboration with local hunters in the area, who acted on intelligent information.
The suspects who include, Shuaibu Yahaya, Habbi Usman, Kabiru Waheed, Mohammed Nurudeen, Mohammed Sulaman, Ali Mustapha, Ismaila Wahab, Musa Zeehed, Gabbar Musa, Sule Adamu Abba Suleman, Usman Kebiru, Yahaya Danladi and Usman Ali Zekeri.
Confirming the arrest, the state Commander of the Amotekun Corps, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, said, “the arrest took place at a Forest reserve in Owo, it was in the course of the exercise we discovered the illegal mining locations. We noticed that they have gone far in 50 different locations where they were mining.
“Nobody would have believed that Ondo State has this quality of gold until we got to the locations where the gold robbers were living and performing illegal mining. Beyond the arrest, the culprits will be handed over to the police for prosecution.”
One of the suspects, 30-year-old Kabiru Shuaib from Kebbi State, said he was invited by his friend Yunisa, in 2019 and said, “I came looking for a job and I was introduced by one of our leaders who is at large. He brought me to Ondo State for this job because I wanted to make some money.
“I am the second-best in getting the gold as it is a very high-quality gold. We only get it out and send back home to our boss (names withheld) who sell them and later pay us.
“The gold in the land is of very high-quality gold mostly we get 25 carats, 20 carats sometimes we get 15 carats gold. And we make good money.”
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Amotekun nabs 15 illegal gold miners in Ondo
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Amotekun nabs 15 illegal gold miners in Ondo
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