On Wednesday, eight individuals were arrested in Jobabo during an operation conducted against illegal mining in the municipality located south of Las Tunas province, according to a press release from the Ministry of the Interior (MININT).

Las Tunas, Cuba.- “Various electrical equipment and other accessories were seized, which allowed those citizens to carry out the exploitation and illegal trafficking of gold dust that they extracted from the mine,” the MININT pointed out. Among the electrical devices, "Electric power plants and generators, and water pumping equipment” stand out. “Electro-pneumatic rotary hammers and other types of electric demolition hammers, or electric pickaxe, used to crush, chop, excavate and cut concrete were also seized, which ensures constant chiseling and high productivity, and a type of artisanal mill to crush stones and at the end of the process the gold dust is obtained.”

The accused, the Ministry of the Interior said, “are being investigated for alleged crimes associated with this event, which are provided for in the Cuban Penal Code. Each of them, it is said, is guaranteed due process, a legal principle by which the State respects all legal rights of citizens.”

This operation took place as a result of “previous complaints from the population, verified in controls by our Party and government authorities,” the source explained,

“We call on our people, relatives, and neighbors in that area to increase vigilance and combativeness against this type of illegality, which also constitutes a crime. Besides environmental damage, there are other risks and dangers to human safety and health, as well as moral damage,” the press note concluded.