The Colombian Navy seized two dredgers that were allegedly being used for illegal mining work in the waters of the Putumayo River, near the San Agustín village, department of Amazonas.
Once the men of the Naval Force of the South arrived at the scene, the dredgers were abandoned by the individuals, who escaped. The material was confiscated according to article 244 of the Criminal Code: "for exploitation, extraction, or taking of national interest minerals without permits title in force."
The materials were put into custody of the authority.
The Amazon Basin has been highly hit by the illegal and criminal exploitation of gold, platinum, zinc, molybdenum and silver; a crime that, due to the use of mercury for the extraction of metals, pollutes water sources and hits farmers, indigenous communities and more than 1,000 species of fauna and 384 of flora that inhabit the area.
The Colombian Navy ratifies its commitment to the conservation of the ecosystem and will continue to carry out search and river control operations on the rivers of the Colombian Amazon to deny the access to this river space to criminal groups. In the same way, it invites the community to denounce the Illegal organizations who perpetrate illegal mining that cause irreparable damage to the Amazon ecosystem.
Source: Southern Naval Force
