This result seeks the protection of the environment and the inhabitants.
Within the framework of the Ayacucho Plus Campaign Plan, soldiers of the Cartagena Battalion, attached to the Tenth Brigade, carried out an inter-institutional and coordinated work with the Attorney General's Office and the National Police, dealt two powerful simultaneous blows against the illicit exploitation of mining deposits in the rural area of Dibulla, Department of La Guajira.
As result of these operations, it was possible to arrest 17 people who were involved in the illegal extraction of minerals, using prohibited chemicals that seriously hit the water sources of the region, which supply the municipality with drinking water.
These types of activities not only attack law and order, but in the same way put the health of local communities at risk and alter the ecosystem of the area.
In the interventions, various equipment and materials used for criminal activity were found by troops, such as a rotary hammer, a diesel engine, an engine, a chainsaw, an air compressor, 3 power generators, a compressor, 3.89 cubic meters of wood, 2 winches with engines, 23 rudimentary units of explosive material, 28 meters of detonating cord, 3 drills, a chainsaw and a van, among other precursors that facilitate the exploitation of minerals.
The indiscriminate use of chemicals, such as mercury and cyanide, and the rudimentary techniques used by illegal miners have generated serious environmental impacts, such as the contamination of water bodies by these toxic compounds.
The soldiers of the Tenth Brigade will continue to work in coordination with State institutions to combat illegal activities that attack fauna and flora in the departments of Cesar and La Guajira.
Source: Press - National Army
