French Cameroun has made several arrests in recent days in Bétaré-Oya, in the Lom-et-Djerem Division in the East region headquartered in Bertoua. The security action did include Chinese operators who are currently being held at the premises of the Bétaré-Oya gendarmerie brigade.

Cameroon Intelligence Report learned the Chinese were initially told that they were accused of violating environmental rules in their mining operations. However, by some strange happenstance, the gendarmerie company commander yesterday made a dramatic u turn and stated that the Chinese were in custody for illegal immigration.

An identical case is pending before the Bertoua Court of First Instance where another Chinese raised exceptions on the irregularities of French Cameroun proceedings. We understand that there is a complete breakdown of law and order in the Cameroonian mining sector including successive failures to comply with the obligation under the mining code and the framework law on the environmental management of the primacy of a financial transaction between the ministers concerned and the offenders.

By Rita Akana
Cameroon Intelligence Report