In December 2023, Sierra Leonean authorities arrested two Chinese nationals and one Sierra Leonean in Darakuru Village, Koinadugu District, for engaging in illegal gold mining without the mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) License, violating Section 24(1) of the 2022 Environment Protection Agency’s Act. Investigations revealed that the suspects had been conducting unauthorised mining activities for several months. They were subsequently handed over to the Criminal Investigations Department at Mena Police Station in Makeni for further inquiry.