TMTPOST -- The Gulf Clan, a notorious Colombian drug cartel, has been mining a gold mine whose legal operator is China’s Zijin Mining Group in Colombia, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The Gulf Clan, previously known for trafficking drugs and migrants to the United States, has reportedly taken over about 30 miles of tunnels at the mine. As a result, Zijin has lost approximately 3.2 tons of gold—valued at around $200 million—representing 38% of the mine’s total annual production. The cartel is believed to have around 7,000 armed members, the report said.

The Wall Street Journal said that the Gulf Clan took control of the tunnels through force, overpowering Zijin’s security and forcing them to retreat under a barrage of explosives and gunfire, described by a company official as “trench warfare.” 

“Miners typically seize Zijin’s tunnels by launching explosives and shooting at security guards,” the newspaper reported, citing a security guard at the site.

Miners working for the cartel reportedly use jackleg drills and set off up to 250 explosions daily to break through rock, leading to Zijin losing two of the mine’s three sections.

Despite these losses, the deepest and most lucrative part of the mine remains under Zijin’s control. The company employs around 4,500 workers at the site and processing centers, extracting approximately 4,000 tons of rock per day, which yields an average of 53 pounds of gold.

The Gulf Clan also reportedly provides miners with prostitutes, marijuana, and other drugs.

Zijin Mining Group purchased the Colombian mine for $1 billion in 2020 and has since filed a $430 million lawsuit with the World Bank’s International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, accusing Colombian authorities of failing to protect its assets from cartel activities. 

However, Colombia’s vice minister of defense, Daniela Gómez, said that the country lacks the resources to remove the illegal miners operating in what she described as a "subterranean theater of operations." 

“The company’s demands are unrealistic,” Gómez noted, adding that Zijin already knew about the illegal extraction of minerals when it bought the gold mine.