The invasion of drug cartels
in gold mines in the Amazon
and 12 airstrips were controlled by just one of the groups accused of involvement in drug trafficking in Itaituba (PA)
were laundered by the criminal group in four years, according to the Federal Police.There are suspicions that they used farms, cattle, mines, and airplanes
of gold have been exported from the Amazon in the last six years (much of it with suspicious origins)
in the APA do Tapajós. The conservation unit was the most deforested in the Amazon in 2022
Fonte: MDIC e PF
are Booming
In the past six years, gold exports have doubled in the Legal Amazon, while cocaine seizures by the Federal Police have tripled
Art on photographs: Ibama/Divulgation, Christian Braga/ClimaInfo
Reproduction/Social Media
Federal Police investigations reveal suspicious ties between drug traffickers, illegal miners, and businessmen involved in the so-called ‘narcogarimpos’, a model which uses gold mining to launder drug trafficking money.
Christian Braga/ClimaInfo
Cartels took advantage of the blind eye cast by the Jair Bolsonaro government in relation to illegal mining to invest in “narcogarimpos”. The model uses illegal mining to launder drug trafficking money and encourages other environmental crimes, such as illegal logging and land grabbing.
Paulo Lopes/Ibama
A group headed by Heverton Soares, known as Grota, controls 43 gold mines in the Tapajós Environmental Protected Area, in the state of Pará, according to the police; the conservation unit had the highest rate of deforestation in 2022.
Federal Police/Divulgation
Investigated by the Federal Police for his involvement in drug trafficking, Heverton Soares maintains gold mines in an Environmental Protected Area in Pará; at least two companies have removed him from their list of suppliers
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