A total of 110 officers and environmental officials were mobilized under operation Pterodon in the Cana Brava indigenous territory, in Maranhão, Northeast Brazil.
The investigation began in February, after a complaint received by the National Indian Foundation (Funai) in Cuiabá of illegal logging on the indigenous land.
President Jair Bolsonaro said that the fight against the illegal wood trade in Brazil hinges on international collaboration involving other countries, especially European nations, as the continent is seen as the destination of a significant portion of smuggled shipments of the product.
In his address at the 12th summit meeting of Brics countries, the president once again rebutted the “attacks” the country has been dealt concerning wild fires and deforestation in the Amazon region. “I believe that, after the disclosure [of the list], relevant to everyone, this practice will decrease considerably in this region,” he declared.
A joint raid led to the seizure of a balsa carrying 432 wood logs on the Brazil-Peru border. The crackdown was conducted on the Javari river, in Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas state.