It is estimated that the monetary damage to illegal armed groups would amount to four million dollars in the international illegal market.
Within the framework of the binational military operations being carried out in the border area, soldiers of the Mechanized Cavalry Group N. 3, unit a of the Twenty-Third Brigade of Colombian National Army, in coordination with the Ecuadorian Army, launched a powerful blow against illicit activities in the department of Nariño.
The military operation took place in the rural area of the municipality of Cumbal, thanks to the strategic planning carried out by the troops to counteract illegal mining activities in the area; this is how, in the execution of operational tasks, nine camps used for this illicit activity were found by troops, a coca base paste production laboratory, a laboratory, which conducts the final gold production; 15 power generators, 22 production plants, 15 cyanide tanks, 1200 bags of gold raw material, 22 bags of activated carbon, three pools with diluted gold material and other tools, chemicals and supplies for refining gold and production cocaine hydrochloride.
In the second event, four illegal mining camps were disabled in the vicinity of the same municipality. Within its facilities, seven energy generators, 27 cyanide bags, 12 production plants, 1800 bags of gold raw material, three bags of activated carbon, two pools with diluted gold material were found by troops, among other elements.
Apparently, these illegal structures belonged to the organized armed group (GAO) Comuneros del Sur that commits crime in the area, which would have been hit by more than four million dollars. This structure would generate illicit income of approximately $48 million annually.
This military operation leads to the natural recovery of the ecosystems hit by these illegal activities, encouraging an ecological restoration process, it is in the same way important to keep in mind that illegal mining hits landscapes, agricultural, livestock and fishing production, it in the same way puts human health at risk for several generations.
Source: Press - National Army
