Three Chinese nationals were arrested in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo with 12 gold bars and $800,000 in cash, officials said.
The gold and money were hidden under the seats of the vehicle they were traveling in, according to South Kivu Governor Jean Jacques Purusi.
He said the operation to arrest the men had been kept secret following the recent release of another Chinese group accused of operating an illegal gold mine in the area.
Eastern DR Congo has rich deposits of gold, diamonds and minerals used to make batteries for mobile phones and electric vehicles.
These mineral resources have been plundered by foreign groups since colonial times and are one of the main reasons why the region has suffered from instability over the past three decades.
Militias control many of the mines in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and their leaders get rich selling the mines to middlemen.
Furusi said some of these precious metals dealers enjoyed good relationships with influential people in the capital Kinshasa, which is why the mission to carry out the recent arrests had to be kept quiet.
He said they had been acting on a tip-off and the gold and money were only discovered after a meticulous search of the vehicle in Warungu district, not far from the Rwandan border.
He did not disclose exactly how much gold was seized.
Last month, the governor told reporters he was shocked to hear that 17 Chinese nationals arrested on suspicion of operating an illegal gold mine had been released and repatriated to China.
He said this had undermined efforts to clean up the Democratic Republic of Congo’s notorious minerals sector.
They will have to pay the government $10 million in taxes and fines, Reuters quoted him as saying.
The Chinese embassy did not comment on the claims.
The arrests come as fighting continues to rage in nearby North Kivu province. Rwandan-backed rebel groups have taken over large swaths of territory..
transmission, DR Congo says it has sued Apple Controversy over the use of “blood minerals” prompted the tech giant to say it had cut off supplies from the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring Rwanda.
Rwanda has denied being a conduit for illegal mineral exports from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Lawyers representing the Congolese government argued in the lawsuit that minerals mined from the conflict zone were “laundered through international supply chains.”
“These activities have fueled a vicious cycle of violence and conflict by funding militias and terrorist groups, and contributed to forced child labor and environmental destruction,” they said.
