Chainsaw operators arrested for felling trees in Esuboni forest reserve

The Akyem Oda District Forestry Monitoring team on Wednesday arrested three chainsaw operators for felling  trees in the Esuboni Forest Reserve.

The suspects are Kofi Baah, a chainsaw operator, Kwabena Ninson, a carrier, and Isaac Benuah, a sponsor of the operation.

Ms Dorothy Dampson, the Akyem Oda District Forestry Manager, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the monitoring team, led by Mr Dominic Oteng, on their normal patrol arrested the suspects in the reserve at about 1330 hours on Wednesday.

She said the suspects, who cut three “Danta” and two “Emire” trees  were about to convey them from the reserve when they were arrested.

According to Ms Dampson, the suspects had been handed over to the Akyem Oda District Police for further investigations, and the chainsaw that was used in felling trees had been impounded.

She expressed worry about the rate at which the forests were being depleted, and called on chiefs and other opinion leaders in forest zones to help reverse the situation.

Source: GNA