Brazilian police arrested 26 people suspected of being involved in illegal gold mining in the Amazon. Gold, mining equipment and several aircraft used to bring miners to remote areas of the Amazon were also seized in an operation to curb illegal gold mining, the UPI reported. Police said the miners were causing major environmental damage in the Yanomami indigenous reserve, near Brazil's border with Venezuela. The miners used powerful pumps to dredge material from the bottom of the river and blast the river banks, police said. Their environmental impact was increased by their use of highly toxic mercury to separate gold from the river silt.
