Armed criminal groups tear down precious rainforest to capitalise on record gold prices, report finds Armed criminal groups tear down precious rainforest to capitalise on record gold prices, report finds An illegal gold rush has cleared 140,000 hectares of rainforest in the Peruvian Amazon and is accelerating as foreign, armed groups move into the region to profit from record gold prices, according to a report. About 540 square miles of land have been cleared for mining in the South American