Published: November 2, 2026
TEWOR DISTRICT, Grand Cape Mount County — An unlicensed gold miner caught in a government raid in Grand Cape Mount County says his crew paid the district mining agent’s office L$20,000 every month while it mined without a license. The presidential Protection of Our Resources Taskforce arrested about eight people at the sites over the weekend.
The miner, a Ghanaian identified only as Frank, told reporters at the site that his team had no government authorization to mine.
“Actually, government has given me no document to mine in Liberia,” he said.
He said the payments went to the district mining agent’s office on the 15th of each month. “Each month on the 15th, we get certain amount, which at that time they go 20,000,” he said. He said the miners had discussed asking for receipts for the payments.
His account has not been independently verified, and it does not establish who in the office received the money. The Ministry of Mines and Energy, which oversees district mining agents, had not responded to the allegation by publication time.
The joint team, led by PORT Chairman Col. Abraham Kromah, seized dredging and mining equipment from the sites. Those arrested included Ghanaian, Nigerian and Liberian nationals, and several other suspects fled. The team included personnel from the Armed Forces of Liberia, the Liberia National Police, the Liberia Immigration Service, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
“Well, we have arrested about eight of them,” said Col. Ashford Peal, PORT’s executive director for operations. He said the suspects were taken away for investigation, and that the seized equipment would be handed to the Ministry of Mines and Energy. Authorities will keep gathering intelligence to find those who escaped, he said.
Peal said the raid followed intelligence on two sites, and reports of an earlier confrontation in which ministry officials trying to stop the mining were manhandled. A video of that incident circulated about two weeks before the operation, he said.
The team also arrested the town chief, Maima Sheriff, over allegations that she ordered or encouraged the attack on the ministry officials, in which a ministry vehicle’s tires were damaged. Sheriff denied the accusation. She told reporters she had called the local commissioner and pleaded with the crowd not to act against the officials. “I beg you, I beg you, please,” she said, recalling her appeal.
A second man questioned at the scene, local mining chairman Ousman Sonii, accused a district mining agent of processing documents that ministry officials at the site questioned. Sonii said he paid US$620 in connection with mining documents and referred to a US$250 clearance fee. “I pay full,” he said. Asked about an apparent unpaid balance of US$150 shown on the document, he said, “I can’t tell,” and acknowledged he had not read the papers closely. He said getting documents directly from the ministry is difficult, so applicants rely on district agents.
“No, I am not part of the crime,” Sonii said. He said he has proof of payment and will cooperate with investigators.
Frank said his crew of five Liberians recovered about 1.3 to 1.5 grams of gold on some days. Proceeds paid for fuel and food before the rest was shared, he said. One worker said he sometimes received L$1,000.
Kromah warned that anyone who obstructs enforcement, including local government officials, will face legal action. “Anybody … whether you Ghanaian, you Malian, will arrest you, will bring you to justice,” he said. He said the task force will extend operations to other mining communities across the country.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy suspended all mining in the area until further notice. A ministry representative cited licensing requirements and the risk to waterways that nearby communities use for drinking and washing.
“Everywhere you go, you will see pit holes. So they theydegrade the whole land. This land have been degraded,” Peal said. He warned that the mining threatens fish, crayfish and water sources, and called for the affected waterways to be rehabilitated.
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