The Federal Court in Roraima granted provisional release to three people arrested last Sunday (2) by the National Force, inside the Yanomami Indigenous Land, in the region of Palimiú. The trio had firearms, ammunition and precision scales, as well as a small amount of gold. They were released this Monday (3) after going through a custody hearing in Boa Vista, but must comply with several precautionary measures.
According to the arrest warrant, there were four armed miners spending the night in an indigenous community close to the Araricoera River. The police team spotted a suspicious canoe during a monitoring action in the region. When the police approached, one of the suspects would have pointed a gun and, therefore, managed to flee; the rest surrendered.
The police report shows that the team still tried to find the fugitive by carrying out searches in the region. With the suspects arrested, two 38 caliber revolvers and a 20 caliber shotgun, ammunition, gold and precision scales were found. When asked about what they were doing in the indigenous reserve, the suspects admitted that they were miners, but that they were leaving the region.
Federal judge Rodrigo Mello’s decision imposes a series of restrictive measures, such as the mandatory use of electronic anklets; the monthly appearance in court and the prohibition of leaving the city of Boa Vista without judicial authorization. In addition, prospectors are prohibited from approaching any prospecting, illegal mining or environmental protection zone; in addition to being prohibited from changing address without prior notice.
Combating illegal mining
Since the beginning of February, police from the National Force have been operating in the region of the Yanomami Indigenous Lands, in Roraima, to remove illegal miners who work in demarcated areas. The official estimate is that more than 20,000 miners were working in the indigenous reserve.
The government’s task force seeks to regain control of the region, making the structure used by the miners unfeasible and interrupting the shipment of supplies to the mining and the flow of illegally extracted ore.
