UAE helps arrest 58 suspects, seize 32kg illegal gold in Congo operation against environment crimes

Fifty eight suspects were arrested in a joint operation launched by the UAE to combat environmental crimes in the Congo Basin.

The 14-day operation called 'Jungle Shield' was carried out under the leadership of the UAE and with participation of Angola, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Congo, Gabon, South Sudan, Zambia, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), and the Lusaka Convention Task Force.

Apart from the arrest of the suspects, 32 kilograms of gold was seized from illegal mining, and more than $11 million was confiscated in seizures, including animal skin, fur and elephant tusks.

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