PF operation against illegal mining meets ten search and seizure warrants in Jutaí, in AM

PF operation against illegal mining fulfills ten search and seizure warrants in Jutaí, in AM (Release/PF)

July 20, 2022

15:07

Bruno Pacheco – Amazon Agency

MANAUS – The Federal Police of Amazonas (PF-AM) fulfilled on Wednesday, 20, ten search and seizure warrants and ten precautionary measures in Jutaí (750 kilometers from Manaus). The mayor of the city, Pedro Macario Barbosa, is one of the targets and was removed from office for 90 days. The actions are part of Operation Uiara III, which aims to dismantle criminal organizations focused on the practice of illegal mining and other related crimes, such as environmental and active and passive corruption.

The penalties, added together, may exceed 20 years of imprisonment. According to PF-AM, most of the crimes occur in Jutaí. Among the precautionary measures carried out in the operation, which also included the participation of the Tactical Operations Command (COT), are the removal from office/public functions and access to the City Hall of Jutaí, as well as the revocation of authorizations for illegal mining.

On November 22 last year, the mayor Pedro Macario Barbosa was arrested by the Federal Police when he was caught transporting 257 grams of gold without legal authorization. At the time, the mayor was trying to board at Tefé airport bound for Manaus.

Illegal mining

On November 23, 2021, Greenpeace Brazil flew over the municipalities of Autazes and Nova Olinda do Norte, in the countryside of Amazonas state, and recorded hundreds of rafts lined up with gold miners who formed a “floating village” in the region of the Rosarinho Community.

The image of the dredges moored in the waters of the Madeira River went viral on social networks. At the time, more than 300 rafts were identified conducting illegal activities, resulting in the first phase of Operation Uiara, which aimed to remove illegal miners in the region of Autazes and Nova Olinda do Norte, both in Amazonas.

The diligences around the actions led to the destruction of 131 rafts and the arrest of three people with 150 grams of gold illegally extracted from the Madeira River channel. After eight months, on July 11 this year, the rafts were again found in the same region, according to what Greenpeace confirmed to AMAZON AGENCY

See also: No fear, no willingness to stop. Listen to what the miners on the Rio Madeira dredges say

In Operation Uiara II, which aimed to remove illegal miners in the region of Borba (AM), 34 rafts were destroyed. The SR/PF/AM clarified, in a note, that currently all mining activity in the region is illegal and that the actions aimed at the disintrusion of miners will continue to be carried out, and will be extended during the year to other regions in the state of Amazonas.

Contamination

According to a technical report from the Federal Police of Amazonas on the first phase of Operation Uiara, there is strong evidence of environmental contamination in the Madeira River due to illegal mining. The document, released in December 2021, confirms the release of contaminants from the rafts and also pointed out that the mercury in the bodies of residents in the region is three times higher than the limit considered acceptable by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The report shows that the information was detected through hair samples from river dwellers. The agents also collected material from the rafts, from the Madeira River water, and from leaves that were on the river banks and in the vicinity of the boats.