QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador's government has sent about 2,400 police and soldiers to crack down on a major illegal gold mine that is dominated by heavily armed organized crime groups.

Interior and Police Minister María Paula Romo says the magnitude of the problem made Tuesday's raid necessary. President Lenin Moreno declared a state of emergency in the region on Monday.

Independent miners have flocked to the Buenos Aires mine area since gold was discovered there in late 2017. Organized crime groups moved in to take control and police say they've seen an expanding list of crimes, including homicide to extortion to trafficking in people.

As many as 10,000 now live in the mine area, many in a settlement known as "the plastic city" for the materials used to cover the shacks.