Editor’s Note
This report details a recent joint military and police operation in Peru’s La Libertad region, aimed at dismantling the infrastructure supporting illegal gold mining. The action underscores ongoing national efforts to combat environmental crime and organized criminal networks.
The Northern Operational Command, through the Unified Pataz Command (CUPAZ), executed a joint operation against illegal mining in the Vijus annex, Pataz province, La Libertad region. The intervention was carried out under the state of emergency decreed by the Government with the aim of dismantling the logistical and financial structures of criminal organizations dedicated to the illicit exploitation of gold in the area.
During the action, law enforcement forces found and destroyed an artisanal mineral processing plant, along with 20 mills, four electric generators, four water pumps, 19 gas cylinders, two gold burners, two electronic scales, four motorcycles, and various tools used in illegal mining activity. They also seized 120 sacks of auriferous material, 800 sacks of tailings, three kilograms of mercury, 60 kilograms of borax, six sacks of lime, two cyanidation pools, and four drums with chemical inputs and auriferous material in the drying process.
The goods seized during the operation were valued at 628,900 soles, according to authorities’ estimates. Furthermore, nine people allegedly involved in illegal gold extraction and processing activities were detained. All those intervened were placed at the disposal of the Public Ministry and the competent authorities for the corresponding proceedings.
Samples of the seized chemical inputs and auriferous material were also taken in order to carry out the respective expert examinations, in compliance with the procedures established by law. Specialists will determine the level of environmental contamination and the type of substances used by illegal miners in the mineral beneficiation process.
The operation was executed with the participation of representatives from the National Superintendency for the Control of Security Services, Weapons, Ammunition and Explosives for Civilian Use (SUCAMEC), the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office (FEMA), the Mining Rescue and Emergencies Group (GREMH), the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM), and the National Superintendency of Customs and Tax Administration (SUNAT).
These entities, together with the personnel from the Armed Forces and the National Police of Peru, which make up the Unified Pataz Command, reaffirmed their commitment to the fight against illegal mining, one of the main sources of pollution and crime in the north of the country. The intervention is part of a sustained Government plan to recover territorial control and reestablish order in areas affected by this illicit activity.
The Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office (FEMA) of La Libertad executed an operation in Pataz province, where they achieved the destruction of four rocky-structure mine entrances and an adit linked to illegal mining in the San Fernando annex, in addition to the incineration of explosive material in the Las Pircas sector. The intervention was led by deputy provincial prosecutors Kimberly Cueva Gil and Martín Anhuamán León, within the framework of coordinated actions to combat this crime in the region.
During the proceedings in San Fernando, authorities found an electric generator, 15 tons of polymetallic mineral, drills, drums with petroleum, a metal sieve, and other tools used in illicit extraction, which were destroyed according to established protocols. Furthermore, eight people involved in illegal mining activity were detained, who are currently being investigated for the alleged crime typified in the Penal Code.
In the Las Pircas sector, the prosecutorial and police team intervened a mine entrance with access to an adit where they found 1,550 explosive cartridges, 1,750 assembled detonators, and 1,500 meters of fast fuse. As they lacked authorization for their use or storage, the materials were immediately destroyed. The operation involved agents from the Unified Pataz Command (CUPAZ), the Division against Illegal Mining (Divcomin), the Special Group against Organized Crime (Grecco), the Environmental Directorate (Dirmeamb), the National Directorate of Special Operations (Dinoes), as well as representatives from MINEM and SUCAMEC. The Prosecutor’s Office reaffirmed its commitment to the fight against illegal mining and the defense of the environment in the La Libertad highlands.