Hundreds of machines were found scattered in the Tapajós River environmental preservation area. The region is one of the most targeted by prospectors who invade federal preservation areas and indigenous lands. To combat these criminal actions, Ibama and ICMBio, with the support of the Federal Police, the Federal Highway Police and the National Force, are carrying out one of the largest operations against illegal mining. "The APPs are totally destroyed, the permanent preservation areas. The limits of the environmental licences are not respected. The mining structures have evolved a lot with the use of heavy machinery such as excavators, dredgers and thousands of litres of fuel. And environmental legislation has not kept pace with the regulation of this activity. As a result, this activity causes a great deal of environmental damage and is not properly regulated," said Hugo Loss, Ibama's coordinator of inspection operations.

Source: Amazon Agency