The illegal exploitation caused damage to the environment in an area of five hectares.
Protecting the ecosystem and confronting with power the organized common crime groups that base their illicit activities on the exploitation of mining deposits is the objective of the operation carried out by the Ninth Brigade through units of the Field Artillery Battalion N° 9 Tenerife, Carabineros Police and the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Alto Magdalena, CAM.
The inter-institutional operation was carried out in the village Cuisinde, in the municipality of Palermo. During the intervention, two men were arrested while carrying out work of extraction of dragging material and filling of a dump truck.
The two people were arrested because they did not present an environmental license or a mining title. In addition, a backhoe was found, valued at approximately 450 million pesos, as well as a dump truck, whose value is around 100 million pesos.
According to the investigations, the gang obtained annual income by 500 million and 1,000 million pesos, through this illicit activity, which caused irreversible damage to the flora and fauna of the area. It is estimated that the recovery of the zone could take about 10 years.
This operation reaffirms the commitment of the authorities to environmental protection and the fight against illegal mining in Huila. The arrest of the alleged perpetrators and the finding of the equipment used in illicit activities are important steps to dismantle these criminal organizations.
Source: Press – Ninth Brigade
