Well-known illicit miner Aisha Huang was found guilty of mining without a permit and sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
The court also assessed a GH¢48, 000 fine to her.
The accused was declared guilty by the judge after weighing the arguments made by the prosecution and defense. On similar allegations, the accused was previously released.
However, the statute under which she was being charged came from the previous legal system, which had a five-year maximum term, thus the court could only impose a four-year sentence.
It was said that Aisha Huang was deeply involved in Galamsey activities, particularly in the Ashanti Region. In 2018, she was first taken into custody and expelled from the nation following the A-G’s decision to halt her trial, in which she was charged with engaging in small-scale mining without a permit.
She allegedly entered the nation covertly to partake in the same actions for which she was deported, nevertheless.
The Attorney General then decided to prosecute her in October 2022 for the offenses she was accused of committing both before her deportation and after she returned to the nation.
According to the prosecution, Aisha ran a mining concession illegally at Bepotenten in the Ashanti Region’s Amansie West District.
Her plea of not guilty was based on her refusal to admit guilt to carrying out an unlawful mining activity, helping those involved to participate in an illegal mining operation, hiring foreign workers without authorization, and entering Ghana while forbidden from returning.
On the other hand, Aisha entered Ghana while forbidden from returning, as per section 20(4) of the Immigration Act, 2000, Act 573, and entered the plea on May 3, this year.
That came about following her signing a Plea Bargaining Agreement with the Attorney General’s Office of the State.
