Zimbabwe Arrests 16,000 Illegal Miners

In the past three weeks, more than 16,000 people have been arrested by Zimbabwe's police. According to Reuters, the campaign against illegal miners was meant to put an end to the unlawful but thriving trade in illegal minerals such as gold.

As part of the crackdown, police razed the makeshift homes of the illegal miners set up near the mining fields. Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, said the campaign was necessary in order to root out crime. During the police operation, 3.2kg of gold, 524 tons of gold ore, and 4,876 rough diamonds were confiscated.

Zimbabwe’s economic crisis and the collapse of its commercial agricultural industry have pushed thousands of people back into illegal mining. The minerals are often sold to middlemen on the black market and smuggled into neighboring countries where the prices are higher.

The government has accused powerful politicians and businessmen of buying minerals from miners and smuggling it out of the country.