In a joint operation spanning Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname, law enforcement agencies successfully detained approximately 200 individuals suspected of engaging in illegal gold mining activities across the Amazon region. This unprecedented cooperative endeavor, supported by Interpol, the European Union, and Dutch environmental crime experts, was executed during December and involved over 24,500 inspections of vehicles and individuals navigating the remote border zones of these countries.
Authorities confiscated various items linked to illicit mining and criminal enterprises, such as unprocessed gold, large sums of cash, mercury, firearms, narcotics, and mining equipment. Specifically, three men apprehended in Guyana face accusations of gold smuggling and money laundering after officials recovered unrefined gold and nearly $590,000 in cash. Investigations suggest these individuals have connections with an organized crime group, potentially linked to a significant gold exporting firm operating within Guyana.
Illegal gold extraction in the Amazon has rapidly intensified, driven largely by soaring global gold prices pushing miners deeper into ecologically sensitive forest areas. Such activity has resulted in extensive deforestation and contamination of waterways through mercury pollution, which severely impacts Indigenous communities and the broader environment. Mercury, integral to illicit gold processing due to its ability to separate gold from other substances, poses a considerable toxic threat to rivers, wildlife, and human populations. During the operation, authorities discovered mercury cylinders valued at over $60,000 concealed within solar panels on buses traversing Guyana and Suriname.
Collaborative law enforcement efforts ranged from vehicle and boat inspections to evaluations of small riverside shops supplying fuel and equipment commonly utilized in illegal mining operations. Some of these establishments are suspected facilitators in the smuggling of gold and mercury across international borders. Apart from mining-related contraband, officials also confiscated counterfeit drugs, illicit alcohol, and cigarettes worth upwards of $40,000, alongside mining pumps, gold collection mats, firearms, and mobile communication devices.
During the campaign, officers intercepted a bus carrying undocumented migrants, including minors who might be victims of forced labor or sexual exploitation, highlighting the human toll of the illegal mining industry. Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza underscored the operation's significance by stating that illegal gold mining's rapid growth poses serious environmental and community harm, particularly in remote, vulnerable regions.
Known as Operation Guyana Shield, this coordinated mission marks a key advancement in transnational cooperation to police complex illegal activities within the Amazon, an area historically challenging to monitor due to dense forests, extensive distances, and porous borders.