Angola's Criminal Investigation Service (SIC) has seized 2,477 diamonds found in possession of illegal buyers in Cambulo, Lunda Norte province, according to the state-owned media.
Angop news agency quoted SIC as saying that they confiscated the diamonds following a public tip-off as part of the fight against illicit diamond trafficking under the ongoing "Operation Transparency".
The police also seized 10.9 million kwanzas, about $36 000, mobile phones of various brands, 20 diamond sorting sieves, among other things.
Angola has since the beginning of the year confiscated 4,691 diamonds from illegal dealers in the municipalities of Xá-muteba, Cambulo, Lucapa and Cuango.
The "Operation Transparency" was launched in December 2018 to combat illegal diamond mining, illegal immigration, administrative infractions, among other things.
Angola had more than 700 small diamond prospectors before the operation.
Only 260 of them were said to have met the requirements to continue prospecting.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
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