Top: Drone picture showing deserted sand deposits, mangroves, and grass growing on the abandoned mining site. The DayLight/Samuel Jabba

By Harry Browne and Samuel Jabba

SEAVIEW – Illegal miners, who ravaged a beachfront in the Robertsfield Highway community of Gbengbar Town for over a decade, have left the area, following residents’ persistence, authorities’ actions, and a DayLight investigation.

Last December, The DayLight reported that the miners allegedly threatened to kill residents of the Seaview community for opposing their illegal activities. The community involved the police, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Ministry of Mines and Energy, which shut down the illegal operations.

“On behalf of the community, I want to say a big thank you to the government of Liberia for intervening,” said Victor Sumo, a Seaview resident and lecturer at the University of Liberia.

“We also appreciate The DayLight for helping us to expose every illegal activity. The drone that was flown and key photos taken exposed them clearly.”

After a DayLight investigation, the Ministry of Mines arrested and jailed Jacob Dolo, the illegal miners’ ringleader.

Upon his release days later, Dolo signed a commitment not to mine in the Seaview area again, according to Agatius Cooker, Inspector General, Ministry of Mines. Dolo confirmed the information.

It is not the first time that the illegal miners have stopped operating—only to later return. Last May, soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia removed them from the beach, seizing their tools.

However, they returned five months later and intensified their activities. The illicit miners had operated in the area since 2014, two years after the government banned beach sand mining.  

To prevent the recurrence of that situation, residents have set up a task force to monitor beach activities. Samuel G. Ford, the director of Community Policing at the Liberia National Police, created awareness in the area.

‘Thank God for The DayLight’

Reporters visited the infamous ‘Block-40’ mining site, located between the beach and a swamp. Back in October, miners uploaded sand in pickup trucks, while others transferred sand from the beach. This time around, the site was a ghost town.

Reporters observed nature reclaiming the illegal sand mine and its environment. Sand deposits lay deserted, the ocean was refilling a gigantic canal the miners dug to transfer sand from the beach. Makeshift shelters were demolished. Grass grew everywhere. At least one squirrel appeared to have observed the noticeable absence of activities, running across the site.

While the illegal miners expressed grievances over the situation, residents were full of praise for The DayLight.

“When they came in, I was really overlooking them to admit the fact. I thought that they could not make,” said Garwool Baysah, a resident.  “I tell God thank you for the DayLight. They did extremely well for us.”

This story is produced by The DayLight, with support from the Embassy of Ireland through Integrity Watch Liberia. The DayLight maintained editorial independence over its content, which does not reflect the position of the Embassy of Ireland or Integrity Watch Liberia.