The Federal Public Ministry told the CNN which, in the face of new complaints presented regarding the practice of illegal mining on the Madeira River, determined the initiation of a procedure to investigate the case. According to information from the non-governmental organization Greenpeace, after eight months, illegal mining rafts returned to occupy stretches of the Madeira River, in the municipality of Autazes (AM).
According to the Amazon spokesperson for Greenpeace Brazil, Danicley de Aguiar, “the State needs to investigate and dismantle the supply line that guarantees fuel for the development of this activity on the Madeira River. The diesel oil that fuels these ferries does not fall from the sky.”
In November last year hundreds of ferries and dredgers docked in a stretch of river. Soon after, in December 2021, the Regional Superintendence of the Federal Police in Amazonas and IBAMA carried out Operation Uiara II in the region, with the objective of identifying and rendering useless the rafts and dredgers that operated the illegal gold mining activity in the river channel. Madeira River.
The Federal Police also carried out a technical study on mercury contamination in the Madeira River, which began with the collection of traces in the region, such as water, sediments, fauna and flora.
As an initial result of the study, a criminal expertise report was prepared, which detected high levels of mercury contamination in the water, river bed, vegetation and human beings who inhabit the banks of the Madeira River in that region.
The Federal Police in Amazonas and the Public Security Secretariat have not yet commented on the new allegations.
Source: CNN Brasil
