Nowadays, illegal mining of precious metals has taken systemic nature in Navoi, Samarkand and Bukhara regions. Smuggling activities and their illegal transportation abroad have been encountered quite often, the Information-Analytical Multimedia Center “Khalk suzi online” said. 
 
For example, in 2015-2018, 214 criminal cases have been initiated against 547 people for illegal mining of gold and other mineral resources. 
 
“About 1 ton of gold metals are extracted annually because of illegal mining. In this season, ten thousand people are engaged in such illicit activities. This is causing a serious damage to the economy of the country,” head of the State Geology and Mineral Resources Department Khayitboy Omonov noted.