Police and prosecutors from Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname arrested almost 200 people in their first joint operation to stop illegal gold mining in the Amazon. The effort was supported by Interpol, the EU, and Dutch police experts in environmental crime. Authorities carried out over 24,500 checks on vehicles and people in remote border areas. They seized cash, unprocessed gold, mercury, firearms, drugs, and mining equipment. Three men in Guyana were arrested for gold smuggling and money laundering after officers found unprocessed gold and about $590,000 (£440,000) in cash. Investigators said the men belonged to an organised crime group that may be tied to a large gold exporter in Guyana. Illegal mining drives deforestation and pollutes rivers with toxic mercury, damaging lands used by Indigenous communities. Rising gold prices have pushed miners deeper into the rainforest. Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said, "Illegal gold mining is growing rapidly and causing serious harm to the environment and local communities, especially in remote and fragile areas." Officials found mercury worth over $60,000 hidden inside solar panels and transported by bus in Guyana and Suriname. Mercury, used to separate gold, is highly toxic and contaminates rivers, wildlife, and people. Police conducted coordinated checks along shared borders, inspecting vehicles, boats, and shops selling fuel and supplies often used in illegal mining. Some shops may help smuggle gold and mercury. They also seized counterfeit medicines, alcohol, cigarettes worth over $40,000, mining pumps, mats to collect gold, firearms, and mobile phones. A bus with undocumented migrants, including children suspected of forced labor or sexual exploitation, was stopped. The operation, called Operation Guyana Shield, marked a big step in regional cooperation to fight illegal mining in the hard-to-police Amazon rainforest with its long distances and porous borders.