In Brazil’s Amazon Basin, particularly in the states of Pará, Roraima, Rondônia, and Amazonas, many illegal miners operate with the backing or direct involvement of narcotrafficking organissations. According to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, criminal syndicates such as Comando Vermelho and regional Drug Trafficking networks have begun investing heavily in illegal gold mining as both a revenue stream and a means of laundering drug profits. These groups finance dredging equipment, provide security for mining camps, and use clandestine airstrips to move both gold and drugs through remote jungle corridors. In regions like Itaituba (Pará) and São Félix do Xingu, drug traffickers have established control over entire stretches of river where gold is extracted using mercury and high-pressure hoses, causing widespread deforestation and water contamination. Gold is then laundered through small-scale miners and front companies, often ending up in legal supply chains with falsified documentation. Authorities have identified that these operations also serve as logistical hubs for trafficking cocaine from Peru and Colombia into Brazil, with gold acting as a low-risk form of currency that is easier to transport and harder to trace than cash.