Eight traders have been arrested in Tanzania‘s northwestern region of Geita for smuggling an unspecified amount of gold out of the country, an official said on Sunday.
Doto Biteko, the Minerals Minister, announced the arrest during a meeting with small-scale miners in the gold-rich Geita region.
Biteko stated that the government launched a crackdown on unscrupulous gold traders after sales in minerals trading centers began to fall.
“The eight traders have been detained helping police in their investigations,” he said.
He, however, declined to say how much gold was found in their possession. Biteko urged traders to stop buying gold in the streets and instead buy the precious stones in state-run mineral trading centres.
In 2019, Tanzania set up government-controlled minerals trading centres in efforts aimed at curbing illegal exports of gold and other precious minerals. The centres give small-scale miners direct access to a formal, regulated market where they can trade their gold.