65 cases of illegal gold mining identified in Uzbekistan over six months 

There are also legal conditions for legal entities and individuals to engage in individual gold mining.

However, there are also illegal gold miners in the country, mainly in Navbahor, Nurota, Tomdi, Uchkuduk and Khatirchi districts of the Navoi region, Angren and Almalyk cities, Akhangaron district of the Tashkent region, Pakhtachi and Koshrabat districts of the Samarkand region.

According to the analysis, large amounts of gold are mined every year by illegal organized groups and traded on the black market.

Illegally mined gold is then used to make jewelry and the product is sold in local markets, as well as smuggled abroad, mainly to India.

In particular, in September 2019, during the operation carried out by officers of the State Security Service at the Tashkent International Airport, the export of more than 11 kilograms of jewelry worth 8.5 billion soums to India was prevented.

During the period from January 1 to June 10 this year, officers of the SSS and the MIA identified 65 cases of illegal gold mining. In particular, 25 cases were observed in the Khatirchi district of the Navoi region, 11 – in the Tomdi district, 5 – in the Nurota district, 4 – in the Uchkuduk district, 2 – in the Navbahor district, 7 – in the Koshrabat district of the Samarkand region and 11 – in the Gallaaral district of the Jizzakh region. 145 people were arrested, 4 criminal and 43 administrative cases were initiated against them.

Also, in the first 5 months of this year, as a result of operational activities carried out by SSS officers in cooperation with the police department, 26 such cases were revealed in Angren and Almalyk cities, Akhangaron district of the Tashkent region. 51 people were arrested, 5 criminal and 18 administrative cases were initiated against offenders.