Brazilian officials destroy equipment in illegal mining raids in Mato Grosso and Rondônia

In the municipality of Apiacás, Mato Grosso, a driver was caught extracting mineral ore in a permanent preservation area. When inspectors from the State Environment Secretariat arrived, he deliberately damaged the backhoe he was operating to prevent its removal, fled the scene and has not yet been located. The incident triggered a fine of R$100,000 for the landowner and involved two other men who were taken to police custody. The action undermined a memorandum that mandates seized illegal‑mining machinery be handed over to local municipalities for public use.

Separately, Federal Police together with the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation conducted Operation Caraíba in Guajará‑Mirim, Rondônia, destroying three hydraulic excavators used in clandestine gold mining inside the Mapinguari National Park on the border with Amazonas. The operation also disabled three illegal mining fronts and dismantled 68 unauthorized camps. Earlier raids in the same park had seized assets worth about R$7 million, including additional machinery and weapons.