Illegal Mining in Colombia is a Modern Day Gold Heist

Jul 18, 2016 | Kal Kotecha
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It seems like an odd kind of crime, especially considering the sheer scale it’s operating on. Illegal gold mining has become a serious problem in Colombia, with small-scale miners being driven off their land by bands of armed men, and honestly, those are the lucky ones. The less fortunate were either shot, or forced into working the claims that used to be theirs.

So how much has this illegal gold mining been netting? Eclipsing even the most profitable bank-heist in history, illegal mines in Colombia are churning out $2.5 billion dollars in profit a year. Driven by increased human trafficking and fierce control of mines, this means we can now consider illegal mining to be the new cocaine of Colombia.