📍Dar es Salaam: Following the strengthening of the illegal mining control system carried out by the Ministry of Minerals through the Taskforce, 4,402.20 grams of gold worth
1,238,458,594.42 have been seized while being smuggled.
This was stated on July 27, 2026 by the Minister of Minerals, His Excellency Anthony Mavunde (Mb) in Dar es Salaam while speaking to the media.
“The government through the Ministry of Minerals created a task force that involves state agencies to control illegal mining and smuggling. This is just part of the work that has been carried out by the task force in strengthening the mining trading system”, he said
“My brothers, this gold worth more than 1.2 billion did not go through the official mining trading system, thus leading the Government to lack revenue that would help it strengthen the provision of various services to the citizens”, stressed Hon. Mavunde.
Minister Mavunde noted that the seized gold has been nationalized in accordance with legal procedures and has been stored at the Central Bank of Tanzania.
Hon. Mavunde has directed the Task Force in collaboration with other state agencies to thoroughly question the suspect who was arrested with the gold to find out where it came from and where he was taking it, in order to completely address the root cause of such acts and break the chain of smuggling.
Hon. Mavunde stressed that if the arrested suspect had a mining license, the license should be immediately revoked and blacklisted so that he/she is no longer allowed to trade in minerals in the country.
In another step, Minister Mavunde advised all citizens to adhere to and follow the laws and systems for trading minerals that we have set for ourselves through mining markets and purchasing centers that have spread throughout the country.
