In river control operations in the Department of Bolivar, carried out in recent days, 20 dredges, 54 engines were destroyed and 18 people were arrested for the crime of illegal exploitation of mining sites.
During surveillance, interception and security operations carried out by units of the Colombian Navy, the National Army and the National Police, attached to the Joint Task Force Aquiles, in the Department of Bolivar, 20 floating structures known as dredges were found by troops and destroyed; 18 people were arrested when they were manipulating the machinery.
The joint operations were carried out on the Cauca River, near the municipality of San Jacinto del Cauca, where troops of the Navy Infantry River Battalion n.17, found these rudimentary ships being used for mineral exploration and exploitation activities. 54 engines were in the same way found at the scene.
Apparently this machinery belongs to an organized crime group and its value surpasses 1,470 million pesos. In the same way, it would have the capacity to produce more than 20 thousand grams of gold per month. It could be established that this illegal group allegedly sold gold production to the Luis Fernando Gutiérrez substructure of the organized armed group ELN. With this finding, the Military Forces prevented this criminal organization from receiving about 4,782 million pesos per month.
The material found was destroyed in controlled conditions by the National Police and the arrested persons, were put into custody of the judicial authorities, and must face charges for the crime of illegal exploration and exploitation of mining sites.
The Colombian military forces, under the Artemisa Plan, will continue to carry out operations to combat the organized armed groups-GAO-and their different sources of funding, as well as the factors of instability, including operations against the environment and natural resources, while ratifying their commitment to the safety and good physical condition of the inhabitants of the Cauca river.
Sources: Press-Navy of Colombia
