Colombian Navy units find two dredgers that were allegedly being used for illegal mining work on the Putumayo River in the department of Amazonas.
The operations that led to the discovery of this material were carried out consecutively in the sectors of Isla Pumpona and Isla Lora, 835 km and 620 km respectively from Puerto Leguízamo, Putumayo, downstream on the Putumayo River.
Once the personnel of the Naval Force of the South arrived at the scene, the dredgers were abandoned by the individuals who manned them, who fled when they noticed the presence of the authorities. So the material was confiscated for crimes against natural resources and the environment in the frame of the article 388 of the Criminal Code for the illegal exploitation of mining and other materials.
No capture occurred during the operation. The materials were put into custody of the authority.
The Amazon region has been highly hit by the illegal and criminal exploitation of precious minerals and so-called rare earths elements, a crime that due to the use of toxic chemicals for the extraction of minerals, pollutes water sources and directly hits the native communities and the thousands of units of flora and fauna endemic to the region.
Source: Colombian Navy Press
