The military operations are carried out by units of the Navy Infantry Brigade No.1; in the first days of the year, they have managed to hit the illicit activities of criminal organizations by more than one billion COP.
The Colombian Navy through the Navy Infantry River Battalions No.16 and 17 attached to the Navy Infantry Brigade No.1, have conducted joint operations with Colombian National Army, coordinated with the National Police and inter-institutional with environmental authorities in the departments of Cesar and Chocó. The operations seek to stop the illegal exploitation of mining deposits by Organized Armed Groups, responsible for serious environmental damage in the vicinity of the Atrato, Magdalena, and Quito rivers.
In these operations, 38 mining production units were neutralized and 32 dredgers of different types, 30 motor pumps, 36 engines and two backhoes were immobilized; elements that, according to preliminary information obtained by military intelligence, would be being used for the illicit exploitation of mining deposits, in violation of the current regulations associated with this activity and with the regulations sought to operate this type of machinery.
The immobilized equipment and an arrested individual were put into custody the authorities to continue with the relevant judicial procedures. According to initial estimates, the loss produced by the action of the Military Forces to criminal organizations at the service of illegal mining exceeds one billion pesos.
It should be noted that these operations mitigate the environmental damage caused by illegal activities in ecosystems by the use of toxic chemicals such as mercury, a substance discarded in rivers that puts the health of coastal communities at serious risk.
The Colombian Navy, through the Navy Infantry Brigade No. 1, ratifies its permanent commitment to the protection of the environment and the fight against illegal mining, conducting sustained operations to enhance the safety, legality and activities of the State in its area of responsibility.
Source: Press – Navy of Colombia
