More than 200 people have been detained in a police operation in the Angolan province of Bengo, where 28 artisanal miners recently died following a mine collapse.
The crackdown follows an accident on May 23, when an illegal artisanal gold mine collapsed in the commune of Canacassala, located in the Nambuangongo municipality of Bengo province.
According to the spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior in Bengo province, “Operation Golden Thread 2” (*Operação Fio de Ouro 2*) was carried out across the municipalities of Ambriz, Nambuangongo, and Muxaluando.
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The operation resulted in the arrest of 209 individuals, including 40 foreign nationals—mostly citizens from the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo who were in an undocumented migration status.
“Several areas were dismantled, and various pieces of equipment used to support the illegal extraction and exploitation of the strategic mineral gold were seized,” said Chief Superintendent Gaspar Inácio.
During the operation, police seized three vehicles, seven motorcycles, 18 motor pumps, 35 shovels, and a handmade shotgun.
