Federal Police fight illegal gold mining on ranch in Pará state
Brazil’s Federal Police launched operation Boi Dourado (“Golden Ox”) yesterday (Feb. 8) to combat illegal gold extraction and related environmental crimes on a ranch between the municipalities of Marabá and Curionópolis, in the northern state of Pará.
Environmental damages are estimated to total BRL 20 billion—a calculation based on the vast area affected by illegal extraction, deforestation, excavations, severe soil contamination, and the silting and the contamination by mercury of the Sereno River, a tributary of the Tocantins River, which serves a number of cities and runs near the property.
Agents carried out the preventive detention of the ranch owner, whose name was not disclosed, and served nine search and seizure orders in Curionópolis and Marabá, as well as in Goiânia, in Goiás state.
Also being enforced is the sequestration of assets worth BRL 161 million and the property’s inalienability—valued at BRL 200 million.
The police described the suspect as as “a large cattle rancher businessman with no mining permit or environmental licenses.”
His financial transactions are believed to point to middlemen in the trade of illegally extracted gold. Probes also indicate he sought to erase evidence of environmental crimes. His freedom, agents argued, may hinder both the collection of evidence and the work of the prosecution.
Complaints and reports
The investigation started after complaints from residents living near the ranch and information was reported by Xingu-Rio, the company in charge of a nearby power line serving the Brazilian Southeast. During the inspection of power towers, the utility noticed that gold extraction activities were nearing the transmission line.
The police also said that experts should give a more precise estimate of the environmental damage. The value will take into account the costs required for environmental restoration.
In September 2022, the Federal Police had executed a search and seizure warrant on the ranch and rendered three wheel loaders useless.
The individuals involved should answer for environmental crimes, usurpation of federal property, and criminal association.
