Interpol-Backed Operation Nets 198 Arrests in South America’s Illegal Gold Trade

Police across four South American jurisdictions have carried out their first coordinated cross-border operation against illegal gold mining, arresting nearly 200 suspects and seizing cash, gold, mercury and mining equipment.

The operation, known as Guyana Shield, brought together law enforcement and prosecutors from Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname in December and involved more than 24,500 checks on vehicles and individuals across remote border regions.

Authorities said the effort resulted in 198 arrests, including the detention in Guyana of three men suspected of gold smuggling and money laundering after they were found carrying unprocessed gold and about US$590,000 in cash.

Investigators allege the three suspects are linked to a major organized crime group with possible connections to a prominent Guyanese gold exporting firm. The case is now the subject of ongoing financial and criminal investigations.

Interpol, which supported the operation, said the surge in global gold prices has fueled a rapid expansion of illegal mining activity, particularly in environmentally sensitive regions of Latin America.

Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said the illicit gold trade has become a major funding source for criminal networks operating across borders.

“The surge in international gold prices in recent years has resulted in increased illegal gold mining making it the fastest-growing revenue stream for organized crime groups, including in Latin America,” Urquiza said. “At INTERPOL, we are committed to working with our partners to disrupt those networks and prevent more damage to this remote and environmentally fragile region.”

A central focus of the operation was the movement of mercury, a toxic substance widely used in illegal gold extraction to separate gold from other metals. Police in Guyana and Suriname seized cylinders of mercury valued at more than US$60,000 which were being transported by bus and concealed inside solar panels.

Mercury contamination poses severe risks to both ecosystems and human health, particularly in riverine and Indigenous communities.

The crackdown also featured so-called “mirror operations,” with officers from Brazil, French Guiana and Suriname conducting simultaneous checks on opposite banks of the Oyapock and Maroni rivers, which form key border crossings in the region.

These coordinated inspections targeted riverbank supply stores that sell fuel, equipment and chemicals used in gold mining and that, in some cases, are suspected of facilitating smuggling.

Operation Guyana Shield was further supported by EL PACCTO 2.0, a European Union-backed cooperation program focused on transnational organized crime, alongside INTERPOL and the Dutch Police’s High Impact Environmental Crime team.

The operation builds on earlier enforcement actions targeting illegal gold mining in the Amazon basin. In November last year, Brazilian authorities, with INTERPOL support, dismantled hundreds of illegal dredges along the Madeira River in what officials described as a major blow to mining syndicates operating in the region.

The operation, coordinated by the Amazon International Police Cooperation Centre, disabled 277 dredges valued at an estimated US$6.8 million.

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.