Brazilian security forces seized 23.9 tons of illegally extracted minerals in the Amazon

The Brazilian government announced today that security forces seized 23.9 tons of minerals (cassiterite, gold, and mercury) and 36 airplanes, in addition to arresting 25 people in Operation Guardians of the Biome, carried out in indigenous lands against illegal mineral exploration.

According to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, the operation, which took place between July 5 and August 7, was carried out in the Yanomami Indigenous Land, in the middle of the Amazon, against environmental crimes.

The operation counted with the participation of 12 federal institutions, and 712 medical assistances to the indigenous population were also carried out.

“The focus is to strangle the logistics of illegal extraction. We know that within the indigenous lands, illegal extraction has logistics, a very strong chain that includes aircraft, fuel, food, internet, communication radio, and this operation intends to combat this logistic chain,” explained the Director of Operations of the Ministry of Justice, Fernando Oliveira.

The operation also included inspections of airfields, airstrips, airports, supply points and aircraft, river and road blockades, land control, destruction of engines, generators, and asphalt machines, and administrative measures.

Three tanks with a capacity of 15,000 liters of fuel were seized, and seven people had their license to fly suspended.

The 2021 operation seized 90 aircraft, of which 22 were destroyed.

The Yanomami indigenous reserve is home to an estimated 28,000 indigenous Yanomami tribe members and some 20,000 illegal mineral extractors.

With information from Xinhua