Police have arrested the Odikro of Gyabenkrom and two others for destroying more than 33,000 mature rubber trees on a plantation belonging to Ghana Rubber Estate Limited (GREL) in the Ahanta West Municipality in the Western Region.
The Odikro identified as Nana Agyarko is reported to have allegedly employed some people outside Gyabenkrom, the community where the plantation is located. These people are to fell the trees, which cost the company €95,000, equivalent to GH1.14 million.
It’s believed the main suspect, Nana Agyarko, destroyed rubber trees on government land allocated to GREL for rubber plantations. This is because he wanted to sell part of it to private individuals for development.
The Takoradi Divisional Police Command handling the case, however, has granted bail to the suspects while the investigation continues.
Nana Agyarko and his two accomplices help the police with their investigation.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Association of Chiefs On whose Land GREL Operates (ACLANGO), Nana Kwesi Agyeman IX, has described the activities of the perpetrators who were contracted by Odikro to destroy the plantation as a threat to national development because they did not consider the national interest, job security of employees, or the community.
