Brazilian police crack down on illegal mining gang in Amazon region, involving a staggering 3 tons of gold

Recently, Brazilian federal police have carried out a series of raids in recent days and successfully cracked down on an illegal mining gang in the Amazon region. The gang is accused of being implicated in the illegal mining and processing of about 3.1 tons of gold, attracting widespread attention.

Citing a statement from the Brazilian police on the 10th, the Associated Press reported that this illegal mining gang is mainly active in the state of Pará and is believed to be related to an organization that illegally mines for gold in the state of Roraima. Relevant departments have issued a total of 33 search warrants and 13 preventive arrest warrants in the states of Pará, Amazonas, Roraima and Mato Grosso. A federal judge also ordered the freezing of 2.9 billion reais (about 3.6 billion yuan) in cash and assets, including vehicles, jewels and gold bars.

According to Reuters, most of the raids are concentrated in southern Pará. The police said that illegal gold mining activities in the rainforest in this area have surged in recent years. They found that at least 3.14 tons of illegally mined gold was laundered with false certificates of origin of ore. Moreover, most of the illegally mined gold is refined and processed in São José do Rio Preto, a city in northern São Paulo state. The city has a developed jewelry industry. Illegal source gold is melted into gold ingots together with legal source gold here, which has caused great difficulties for the police to track down the whereabouts of illegal gold.

As of now, the police have shut down four companies and revoked six mining licenses and four gun licenses. This operation has strongly cracked down on illegal mining activities in the Amazon region of Brazil. The suspects may face charges such as illegal mining and trading of gold, money laundering and participating in criminal organizations.