YANGON: Two senior Myanmar officials were purged from their posts this week after an investigation over corruption in the country’s multi-billion-dollar jade mining industry, authorities said Friday.

The heads of Myanmar’s customs and trade departments were stripped of their positions and accused of illegally importing heavy machinery used to dig for jade in northern Kachin state, said Zaw Htay, director general of the president’s office.

It was a rare government admission that officials were involved in corrupt practices in the shadowy and vastly lucrative jade industry, which feeds huge demand for the precious stone in neighboring China.

Public outcry has intensified in recent months as ever-larger diggers claw huge swathes of the landscape in Kachin’s Hpakant mining area, which has seen a string of deadly landslides.

“These two officials were involved in the import of machinery to dig for jade in Hpakant and the president’s office has taken action against them,” Zaw Htay said, adding that there was no indication that criminal proceedings would be taken against them.