In the Rivne region, law enforcement officers have seized a further 130 items of equipment used for the illegal extraction of amber
As part of a series of measures to combat the illegal extraction of amber, operatives from the Department of Strategic Investigations, investigators from the Main Investigative Directorate of the National Police, in conjunction with the Office of the Prosecutor General, have uncovered several more sites of illegal amber mining within the deposits in Rivne Oblast.
According to the National Police, law enforcement officers seized 130 items of equipment last week. These included 29 motorised pumps, 86 fire hoses, pipes, scrapers and other equipment found at the sites of illegal mineral extraction.
The police note that the illegal extraction of amber was carried out under the guise of geological surveys of the subsoil. To this end, according to the investigation, special permits for subsoil use were utilised, whilst the actual extraction was carried out using motorised pumps and soil hydro-washing technology.
During the investigative operations, law enforcement officers seized the equipment and took samples from the sand piles formed as a result of mineral extraction, as well as soil samples for relevant forensic analysis.
The National Police emphasised that these comprehensive measures are aimed at combating the illegal extraction of amber, protecting Ukraine’s subsoil resources and bringing to justice those whose involvement in unlawful activities is proven in accordance with the law.
The agency also reiterated that, in accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of a crime until their guilt has been proven in accordance with the law and established by a court conviction.
As reported by ThePublic, in June, law enforcement officers carried out 47 authorised and urgent searches as part of an investigation into the illegal extraction of amber. At that time, dozens of homemade motorised pumps, equipment for processing the stones and over 52 kilograms of amber were seized.
