Brazil’s Federal Police on Wednesday were carrying out a court order to seize more than 2 billion reais ($384 million) related to about 13 tons of gold mined illegally in the Amazon rainforest, then exported through an unnamed U.S.-based company.
Police said in a statement they were also executing 27 search warrants and three arrest warrants in seven states and the Federal District related to the investigation. The operation forms part of a fresh crackdown on illegal Amazon gold mining in the wake of the government announcing a health emergency for Yanomami Indigenous people caused by prospectors.
