Police in the central province of Quang Nam have raided dozens of illegal gold mines in the area.

Colonel Nguyen Duc Dung from Quang Nam Police told DTiNews that on May 31 that they have done a large raid on dozens of illegal gold mines which have been operating for a long time around the Thanh River Conservation Area in Nam Giang District.

Police in Quang Nam Province raid dozens of illegal gold mines around the Thanh River Conservation Area in May

"The raid was conducted in mid-May when a group of over 30 police officers disguised themselves as local officials coming to call on the gold miners to vote at the national election," Dung said. "These mines were in remote and mountainous areas which were very difficult to access. So it took us many days to investigate their activities and conduct the raid."

 A police officer is working with the owner of an illegal gold mine

According to local police, they have destroyed 22 temporary camps set up at 13 gold mines, and seized machinery and equipment. More than 200 workers were driven out of the area.

Illegal gold mining has become a hard to resolve problem in the province despite several recent tragic accidents.

Early last month, four miners were killed and three others were injured after asphyxiation occurred at a gold a shaft in Thanh My Town, Nam Giang District.

Statistics show that nearly 40 people having been killed in nine separate gold mine accidents in Quang Nam since 2009.