The Attorney General directs an investigation into the case of smuggling "black sand" in Hadhramaut

The Attorney General of the Republic of Yemen, Judge Qaher Mustafa Ali, directed the head of the Central Organization for Control and Accounting, Judge Abu Bakr Al-Saqqaf, to open an investigation into allegations of smuggling "black sand raw material" out of the country through the port of Mukalla.

Media and human rights sources said that the Attorney General directed an investigation into what is being circulated in the media and social networking sites, about the Chinese company "Black Horse Mining, Import and Export" violating the agreement concluded with the Geological Survey Authority in Hadhramaut, which authorizes the company to mine black sand ore in the Al-Safal area in the Brom Mayfa'a Directorate.

The sources added that the Attorney General's directive - which came in response to a complaint submitted by a human rights group - stipulated investigating the company's suspicion of exploiting the agreement concluded on March 9, 2023, by looting and smuggling "black sand raw material" abroad through the port of Mukalla, and submitting a detailed report on its results.

Economic expert Khaled Abdel Wahid said that the Attorney General, Judge Qaher Mustafa, responded, thankfully, to the report submitted to him by a human rights group, demanding an investigation into the incident of smuggling black sand from Hadhramaut. The Attorney General issued directives to the head of the Oversight and Accounting Authority to investigate the matter.
*Directives of the Attorney General pic.twitter.com/hLZiFjko5g

- Ahmed Alhaj (@AhmedAl_haj) October 18, 2024

Early this month, the Hadhramaut Tribal Alliance announced the detention of four locomotives leaving Ghaydat Al-Bahish Al-Ghabr, west of Al-Mukalla, on charges of smuggling gold and black sand, while the Hadhramaut Geological Survey Authority denied these accusations and said that they were loaded with gypsum.

In recent months, there has been a significant increase in looting and smuggling of precious stones and black sand in areas under the control of the pro-Emirati forces in Hadhramaut and Shabwa (east of the country), amid accusations of the involvement of external parties in these operations, which are highly suspicious.