Crackdown on illegal mining activities nets suspects

A total of 1,556 people were tried by procuratorates nationwide for illegal and destructive mining during the first quarter of this year. The crime is driven by the potential for profit and is often linked to organized crime, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said.

With the rising price of minerals, some criminals are driven to destroy natural resources in search of profit, and illegal mining activities cause serious damage to nature and the environment, and also harm national, social and public interests.

The crime mainly occurs in provinces rich in resources like Shandong, Hebei, Guangdong, Henan, and Fujian, and target a wide range of minerals, including sand, coal, graphite and rare earths.

The crimes are varied and cleverly concealed. Some mine without authorization, while others who have approval have maliciously exceeded their scope of permission and concealed illegal mining activity to evade supervision and investigation, said the SPP.

In addition, illegal mining is often linked to organized crime. With their many members and clear division of labor, criminal groups are well-organized, and are capable of operating their own coordinated industrial chains of mining, transportation and sale.

In a recently concluded case involving organized crime in Jiangxi province's Fuliang county, criminal organizations obtained the right to dredge rivers in the name of a local company. They used the work as a cover for the illegal mining of river sand for more than 10 years, and exerted control over the river through violence and threats. They also wooed and corrupted local officials.

The group made more than 200 million yuan ($30.3 million) during the period, and caused serious damage to river safety and to the environment.

Fuliang county court sentenced the 21 defendants in the case to sentences ranging from one year and three months to 13 years, and issued fines of 6.22 million yuan for the crimes of organizing, leading and participating in underworld gangs, illegal mining, offering bribes and money laundering.