Brazilian gold raider invade IWOKRAMA

Nov 06, 2025 News

– two arrested, others drop passports and run

Scenes of illegal mining activities at IWOKRAMA

(Kaieteur News) – A joint operation to clamp down on illegal gold mining inside the Iwokrama Protected Area has led to yet another arrest, underscoring the continuing invasion of Guyana’s most treasured rainforest reserve by foreign criminal elements.

Brazilian national – Flaviano Teixiera-Costa

In a press release IWOKRAM said on November 1, 2025, a mission involving the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the Guyana Police Force, and Iwokrama Rangers intercepted Brazilian national Flaviano Teixiera-Costa, who was detained after being found mining illegally in the internationally recognised conservation zone. His capture follows months of ongoing operations aimed at driving out illegal miners who continue to ravage the forest’s protected lands.

Iwokrama officials say that while illegal mining has slowed compared to last year, the threat remains severe with more foreign nationals crossing Guyana’s porous borders under the guise of “tourism” to extract gold from a forest where mining is absolutely prohibited by law.

Several miners fled into the jungle as enforcement teams arrived, but officers recovered passports identifying other Brazilian nationals linked to the illegal operation: Jailson Ferreira; Lima Iago Silva Alves; Jose Antonio Rodrigues Dos Santos and Jose Do Santos Silvino.

Jose Do Santos Silvino was apprehended during an operation on October 8, 2025

Investigators believe these foreign nationals entered Guyana pretending to be vacationers, only to disappear into the interior to dig for gold within a protected ecosystem critical to Guyana’s environmental future. Iwokrama is warning once again that mining anywhere in the reserve is a direct breach of the IWOKRAMA ACT 1996, which carries strict penalties for those who damage the protected area. The Centre stressed that illegal mining destroys fragile ecosystems, pollutes rivers, and threatens the livelihoods and traditional activities of local communities. It also undermines Guyana’s global standing as a nation committed to forest protection, especially as it pursues international climate financing. “Iwokrama will not tolerate these violations,” the Centre declared, adding that it reserves the right to publish the names and photographs of offenders caught degrading the protected forest.

The organisation expressed its gratitude for the continued support of state agencies, including the Ministry of Natural Resources, GGMC, Guyana Police Force, Protected Areas Commission, and Environmental Protection Agency.

Just last week the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) extended its support to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) for its crackdown on illegal mining and smuggling in Guyana, but it did not mention the activities at IWOKRAM. Instead, the GGDMA noted recent enforcement efforts by the GGGMC in the Sand Hills and Toroparu areas during which several illegal miners and raiders were detained, and several illegal shops and operations were dismantled. The GGDMA also commends the Guyana Police for their support in this exercise.

“The GGDMA has been urging the GGMC to increase its enforcement efforts to stamp out illegal gold mining, to this end the GGDMA welcomes this effort as part of a renewed and larger campaign. The GGDMA calls on the GGMC to expand this exercise to other areas and commence the regularization of landings in the mining areas,” the miners’ association body said.

It added: “It must be noted that illegal gold mining and the operation of illegal shops fuels other associated illegal activities, such as human trafficking, gold smuggling and the sale of illegal drugs. These activities have in the past been tied directly to the gangs in Venezuela including the notorious Sindicato gang. At a time when Guyana is under threat from its aggressive neighbour, the country must take all steps to stop activities linked to the financing activities in Venezuela. The GGDMA has always called for an end to illegal mining. The Association once again takes this opportunity to remind miners that all gold must be sold to the Guyana Gold Board or authorised dealers and detailed records be kept for verification,” the statement concluded.

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Brazilian, GGMC, Guyana Geology, Guyana Police Force, Illegal mining, Iwokrama, Jose Antonio Rodrigues Dos Santos, Teixiera-Costa

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