KHOROG, September 22, 2008, Asia-Plus — Police officers have stopped an attempt of illegal mining of ruby at the Snezhny deposit in GBAO’s Murgab district.
Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, Mizrob Dorobov, a spokesman for the GBAO police directorate, said that Saturday (September 20) evening a group of unknown persons illegally entered the deposit and began mining the precious stone. “They ignored demand by the shift head Rahmat Karamkhudoyev to leave the deposit,” said the spokesman, “They disarmed the guards and escaped, taking the guard’s carbine with them.”
According to him, an operation carried out by local police led to the arrest of nine persons having been involved in attack on the deposit. Criminal proceedings have been instituted against them and an investigation is under way.
According to the GBAO police directorate, its is the first such an incident over the past several years. Some five years ago, an attempt of illegal mining was stopped at the spinel deposit Lal in the Ishkashim district.
