The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has closed down a Chinese-owned warehouse, FEI FUCAI, at Anwia Nkwanta in the Ashanti Region, for allegedly storing and fabricating Changfan machines and other equipment used in illegal mining activities.

The enforcement operation follows the government’s recent directive banning the importation, use, and local fabrication of Changfan machines—equipment widely associated with the destruction of water bodies, forest reserves, and farmlands through illegal mining (galamsey).

EPA officials who led the exercise said hundreds of Changfan components and other mining accessories were discovered inside the facility, which had been registered under the guise of selling automobile spare parts.

“The company has been operating under the pretence of a spare parts business, but investigations revealed it was actively engaged in the fabrication of Changfan machines,” an EPA enforcement officer stated.

“This violates the government’s directive and poses a serious environmental threat,” the officer added.

The closure forms part of a broader nationwide clampdown on individuals and companies involved in the galamsey supply chain, particularly those who import, assemble, or distribute unauthorised mining equipment.

Authorities have warned that the crackdown will extend beyond field operations to target suppliers and financiers who sustain the illegal mining network.

The EPA says it will continue collaborating with the Ghana Police Service, the Minerals Commission, and the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining to ensure compliance with the ban and to prosecute offenders.

Sompaonline.com