Brazilian Federal Police investigators are expanding a program to other countries, allowing them to trace gold from illegal Amazon mines.
This initiative aims to apprehend criminals who smuggle gold across borders to evade Brazil’s stricter enforcement, according to a Reuters report.
This month, gold prices have reached unprecedented levels, hitting a series of record highs.
Global political instability has driven investors to seek refuge in safe-haven assets, making the precious metal an attractive target for illegal mining operations in the Amazon rainforest.
Brazil’s “gold DNA” program catalogs the unique morphological signature of gold.
This allows police to link seized gold to specific areas of the rainforest, thereby connecting it to environmental damage caused by illegal mining.
Brazil initiated its first prosecution using this technique in 2023.
However, as criminal organisations extend their operations, illicitly mined gold is transported from one nation to smelters in another.
Law enforcement agencies emphasise the necessity of expanding their gold library to combat this growing trend effectively.
“When we have samples from all gold-producing areas across the Pan-Amazon region, our gold database will be complete, allowing us to scientifically identify the origin of seized samples,” Humberto Freire, who heads the Amazon and Environment Department at Brazil’s Federal Police, was quoted in the Reuters report.
Amazon database
Expansion work has already commenced with a series of agreements signed by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and French President Emmanuel Macron.
These agreements granted police in Brazil and French Guiana access to each other’s database samples, thereby enhancing cooperation between investigators.
In August, Freire met with Colombian Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez to discuss the program’s implementation in Colombia.
In Colombia, criminal organisations frequently launder money obtained from drug trafficking through illegal mining operations.
Officials throughout the region are concerned that this practice could spread to other countries, complicating investigations.
In recent years, Colombian authorities have increasingly discovered Brazilians working in illegal gold mines near the border, according to reports from Colombia’s National Police and Defense Ministry.
The Brazilian Federal Police’s gold tracing efforts inspired Interpol to create the Gaia Project, an initiative supported by the German government.
This project aims to train police agencies globally in the Brazilian method of cataloging gold.
Interpol Secretary-General Valdecy Urquiza, who is also a Brazilian Federal Police officer, advocated for mapping gold-producing regions as a key strategy for effective investigations into illegal mining.
Gold smugglers adapt tactics amid crackdown
Under the Lula administration, increased investigations and raids against illegal gold miners have compelled criminal groups to seek international avenues.
These groups are now exporting gold to neighbouring countries for processing and sale, a Federal Police source in Brazil was quoted in the report.
Furthermore, state-led enforcement actions, including a Supreme Court decision mandating smelters to verify gold origins, have significantly hindered the entry of illegally mined gold into the market.
Erich Moreira Lima, who heads Brazil’s gold-tracking program was quoted in the report:
We used to see gold coming from Venezuela into Brazil — now it’s the opposite, gold is leaving Brazil.
Data already reveals this change, according to investigators. Gold trade significantly decreased last year, with Federal Police confiscations dropping from a record 308 kg in 2023 to 80 kg.
However, between January and August of this year, 253 kg of gold have been confiscated by police.
Investigators suspect that half of this gold was destined for Venezuelan smelters. Federal police are now analysing the seized gold’s “DNA” to determine its origin.
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