AMAZONAS, BRAZIL - Illegal miners fled upon spotting a helicopter from Brazil’s environmental protection agency, the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), during an operation in Manicoré, in the southern region of Amazonas state.
The operation took place on June 30, near the Campos Amazônicos National Park.
Authorities detected the incursion through geoprocessing tools, identifying illegal activity in a dense and well-preserved stretch of rainforest spanning a 40-kilometer radius.
Footage from the scene shows three individuals fleeing in different directions to avoid capture.
One of them was operating an excavator when the team arrived. The area already showed significant environmental degradation caused by the illegal mining.
Ibama’s intervention halted further destruction and the economic exploitation of natural resources in the region.
amazonagency.news