The Angolan National Police have repatriated some 30,000 foreign clandestine diamonds prospectors in the past four months, a senior police officer said on Monday.
Ambrosio de Lemos, General Commander of the National Police, said that this is a remarkable achievement the police had made since the nationwide fight against illegal diamonds prospecting operation was carried out four months ago.
During a meeting with visiting Namibian Energy and Mining Minister Bernard Esau, who leads a delegation of the Review of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, De Lemos said among the expelled 30,000-strong illegal diamond prospectors, 17,000 were from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) and the rest were from West Africa.
The top police officer added that clandestine diamonds prospecting is mainly carried out in Angola's eastern provinces of Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul, therefore the National Police will intensify actions to crack down on this illegal prospecting to defend national economy and the interests of the minerals exploration companies.
According to an official study conducted in late 2008, Angola will become in 2010 one of the three largest diamond producers in the world.
The study said Angola will be able to produce 19 million karats in 2010, surpassing 9.7 million karats recorded in 2007.
Angola is currently the fifth largest diamond producer in the world after Botswana, Russia, Canada and South Africa.