They arrest five people for transporting 110 tons of iron in the Falcón state

Military from Venezuela arrested five drivers carrying 110 tons of iron in the coastal state Falcón (northwest), the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) reported on Saturday.

Through its Instagram account, the GNB explained that, through inspection work, they found and seized the iron that was transported in five gandolas.

The detainees are accused of the alleged crimes of «illicit traffic of strategic material, use of false documents and association to commit crimes,» said the military institution.

The GNB reported that those arrested were at the order of the Public Ministry (Prosecutor’s Office), without specifying the ages of the people.

Last March, at least eight people were arrested in the Amazon of Venezuela for allegedly practicing illegal mining, said the head of the Operational Strategic Command of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (CEOFANB), Domingo Hernández Lárez.

In the social network X, he said that the detainees «were executing illegal mining work, knowing the prohibition of exploitation of mining and hydrocarbons» in the region.

Hernández Lárez then recalled that, according to Venezuelan laws, in the Amazon «mining and hydrocarbons exploitation is totally prohibited.»

«National parks and forest areas must be protected throughout citizens, since they are under a special conservation protection regime of the Venezuelan State,» he said. EFE