Police have arrested an Odikro of Gyabenkrom and two others for destroying more than 33,000 mature rubber trees on a plantation belonging to the 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 contracted some people outside Gyabenkrom, the community where the plantation is located, to fell the trees estimated to cost the company €95,000, equivalent to GH¢1.14 million.
It’s believed the main suspect Nana Agyarko destroyed the rubber trees on the government land allocated to GREL for rubber plantation 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 are helping the police in the investigation process.
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 the employees and the community.
Its good to destroy rubber trees because GREL managers are very wicked