BOA VISTA, BRAZIL - A shipment of 15.5 kilograms of illegally sourced gold was seized by Brazil’s Federal Highway Police (PRF) on Friday morning (June 19) in the northern state of Roraima. The gold bars were concealed inside a passenger vehicle.

The vehicle had departed from Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, and was traveling toward Boa Vista, Roraima’s capital, when it was stopped during a roadside inspection. Authorities found the gold divided into 28 bars.

The operation took place at kilometer 210 of the BR-174 highway in the municipality of Rorainópolis, in southern Roraima, near the border with Amazonas state.

The driver was arrested on charges of unlawfully exploiting a natural resource belonging to the federal government. He and the seized gold were taken to the headquarters of the Federal Police in Boa Vista.

Including Friday’s case, the PRF has seized approximately 48 kilograms of gold across Brazil so far in 2026. Roraima and Pará are the states with the highest volumes of gold seizures.

Roraima has recorded the largest volume of gold seized by the PRF nationwide over the past five years. In 2025 alone, authorities intercepted 163.69 kilograms of the mineral in the state, exceeding the total amount seized nationwide in each year between 2021 and 2024.

Authorities say Roraima has increasingly been used as a route for smuggling illegally mined gold to neighboring countries.

Amazon Agency