Three Chinese nationals have been apprehended with gold bars and $800,000 in cash in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. 

According to the BBC, the trio were nabbed with 12 gold bars and the stash of cash hidden under the seat of a vehicle they were travelling in. 

Jacques Purusi, the governor of South Kivu province, confirmed the arrest of the suspects, saying that the operation was kept secret after the recent release of another group of Chinese nationals accused of running an illegal gold mine in the area.

Mr Purusi explained that some of the dealers in the ‘previous metals’ had been enjoying good relations with the influential people in the capital, Kinshasa, adding that it was the reason why the latest arrests had to be kept quiet.

Although he did not give exactly how much gold had been seized so far, Mr Purusi said they had been acting on a tip-off.

According to him, the gold bars and money were only found after a meticulous search of the vehicle in the Walungu area near Rwanda’s border.

Last year, Mr Purusi told journalists that he was shocked to hear that 17 Chinese nationals, who had been arrested on allegations they had been running an illegal gold mine, were freed and allowed to return to China.

He said the development undermined the efforts to clean up DR Congo’s notoriously murky mineral sector.

“They owed $10 million in taxes and fines to the government,” Mr Purusi was quoted to have said by Reuters.