A policeman has drowned in River Offin in the Central Region during an anti-galamsey operation at Assin Asaman.

Graphic Online's Central Regional correspondent, Shirley Asiedu Addo reports that the policeman, who has been identified as Constable John Kwabena Dogbe, drowned Wednesday morning.

Constable Dogbe's body was recovered from the river after a four-hour search.

The incident was said to have occurred during a swoop undertaken by the Central North Regional Police Command as part of ongoing efforts to combat illegal mining activities in the region.

Galamsey activities continue to cause significant harm to the environment, destroying large tracts of land and polluting water bodies in the Central Region and elsewhere.

The Central North Regional Police Command had therefore embarked on the swoop as part of efforts to clamp down on the increasing menace of galamsey in the area, particularly along the Offin River.

A source told Graphic Online that upon seeing the police, the suspected illegal miners fled, running to the opposite side of the river bank at Assin Asaman.

The source said that in an attempt to evacuate and destroy the equipment that was being used in the illegal mining activities, including a changfang and water pumping machines, Constable Dogbe slipped and drowned.