30 scouts controlled 200 gold diggers

To trick 200 gold miners who were armed with mines and weapons, the criminal police had to disguise themselves as election propaganda officers when approaching, then "cast a net" to control them.

The Environmental Police Department (PC49, Quang Nam Provincial Police) is completing a report to send to the provincial police leadership to handle many illegal gold mining site owners after the end of the raids. This is a campaign to hunt down gold thieves that lasted more than a month in the mountainous districts of Quang Nam, recording dozens of site owners.

In mid-April, Quang Nam Provincial Police organized a raid on illegal gold mines. Environmental police and the Mobile Police Department (PK 20) were assigned to eliminate the gold mines that have existed for decades.

According to Captain Luu Phuoc Nguyen (Deputy Head of the Minerals Team, PC 49), the campaign includes 5 raids, mainly in Nam Giang and Tay Giang districts. “Local authorities have raided many times but with little effect. This time, with the goal of eliminating, we have prepared a thorough plan. All information is very confidential, it can be considered a battle,” Captain Nguyen said.

Gold thieves were controlled by detectives. Photo: Nhu Y.

The largest raid targeted the Thanh My 1 gold mine in Dak Pring commune. This gold mine is located deep inside the Thanh River Nature Reserve. According to Captain Nguyen, at 7 p.m. on May 10, 30 scouts suddenly received orders from their superiors to prepare weapons and military uniforms to go on duty. It took them more than 3 hours to move from the provincial police headquarters to Vinh village (Ta Po commune, Nam Giang), then walk to the gold mine in Dak Pring commune.

“When we arrived at 10pm, to keep the raid a secret, many of the team members only then knew that we were entering the gold mine. There were many boats here but we only dared to rent a small boat from an acquaintance,” Captain Nguyen said.

After more than 2 hours of crossing the Song Bung 4 hydroelectric reservoir, the reconnaissance team began their journey through the forest. They took off their uniforms to disguise themselves as officers on a campaign trip. Their weapons were hidden in their backpacks. “This gold mine is located deep in the forest, isolated from the population. The goal was to reach it before dawn, so we crossed the forest and waded through streams without daring to rest. We arrived at the gold mine at 5am, and the gold miners were still sleeping,” said Lieutenant Colonel Tuan.

15 people were arranged to surround the area outside. The remaining 15 scouts quietly went to the owner's shack and asked to talk. "There are more than 200 gold miners here, all acting according to the law of the jungle, and they have mines and many weapons. In terms of force balance, the police are much smaller. The gold miners have the advantage of knowing the terrain, so we have to figure out how to calm them down and avoid collisions," said the Deputy Head of PC 49.

The camp is located deep in the nature reserve, the scouts had to trek through the forest for 7 hours. Photo: Phuoc Nguyen.

Meeting the mine owners, the scouts happily asked about the mining situation, then introduced themselves as campaigning for election participation, making them lose their guard. After a few hours of pretending to promote the election, the scouts asked the mine owners to gather the gold miners to "make a list to vote". While the gold miners were lining up, 15 scouts from the outside immediately rushed in with guns, coordinating with the people inside to surround and round up more than 200 gold miners and the mine owners.

"Knowing that we had the situation under control, we announced that the police were going to crack down on illegal gold mining. The gold miners were so surprised that they couldn't react in time," said Lieutenant Colonel Tuan.

After issuing fines to 13 mine owners, the detectives destroyed 15 mines, 22 camps and dozens of machines used for gold mining. More than 200 gold thieves were chased away and handed over to the local authorities for management.

“In previous raids, as soon as they saw the police, the gold miners ran into the forest. We could only destroy the machines and leave, while a few days later they returned to continue mining. This time, thanks to disguise, we were able to approach them and punish them,” said Lieutenant Colonel Tuan, adding that among the gold miners, there were people who had been working in gold for more than 30 years.

Illegal camps were destroyed.

In addition to the raid on the gold mine in Dak Pring commune, in this campaign, the reconnaissance team also launched 4 attacks on gold mines in Ca Dy and La E communes (Nam Giang district) and Lang commune of Tay Giang district. The team made records to handle many mine owners and confiscated a number of excavators and generators used for mining.

Believing that it is necessary to establish discipline and eliminate illegal gold mining, Colonel Nguyen Viet Loi, Director of Quang Nam Provincial Police, said that the plan to crack down on gold thieves will continue. “We have just finished the crackdown, but I have just heard that a small group has returned to a gold mine to continue. Therefore, attacking in small waves will not be effective, this is only the first step,” Colonel Loi said.

The head of Quang Nam Police said that eliminating the gold mine would take a long time. “We have a plan. Not only for gold but also for sand and forest products. The raid is of course very dangerous, but that is the job of the police. As for the owners of the mines, the provincial police's view is to handle them strictly,” said Colonel Loi.

According to VNE