ED Conducts Searches At 16 Locations Across Maharashtra And Madhya Pradesh In Illegal Sand Mining Probe; Assets Worth Crores Seized

Mumbai, Jan 16: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has uncovered a well-organised sand mining syndicate operating across Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, carrying out searches at 16 locations as part of a money laundering investigation linked to large-scale illegal sand mining in Nagpur and Bhandara districts, officials said on Friday.

The searches were conducted by the ED’s Nagpur sub-zonal office under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, at premises located in Nagpur and Bhandara districts of Maharashtra, and Bhopal, Hoshangabad and Betul districts of Madhya Pradesh. During the searches, the agency seized unaccounted cash amounting to Rs 38.43 lakh, along with incriminating documents, property papers and digital devices allegedly indicating large-scale illegal sand mining and the investment of illicit proceeds in immovable assets. Bank balances worth Rs 1.34 crore were also frozen. In addition, eight vehicles including a BMW, two Toyota Fortuners, a Thar, two JCB machines and two Pokland machines

The agency initiated the investigation on the basis of multiple FIRs registered at Sadar and Ambazari police stations in Nagpur city against Narendra Pimple, Amol alias Guddu Khorgade and others. The accused are alleged to have operated an organised illegal sand mining operation using forged and fake Electronic Transit Permits (ETPs) to unlawfully extract, transport and sell sand.

According to the ED, several sand ghats around Nagpur were officially closed, the sand mafia, in collusion with transporters and other associates, continued illegal excavation. The investigation revealed that fake royalty receipts from Madhya Pradesh were used to pass off illegally mined sand as legally sourced and sold in Nagpur. Police authorities have booked several cases against those involved.

The ED said its probe revealed that organised syndicates adopted a well planned and deceptive modus operandi to evade detection during transportation. A syndicate allegedly led by Rahul Khanna and Bablu Agarwal is accused of preparing fabricated ETPs in the names of legally leased sand ghats in Madhya Pradesh. These fake permits were allegedly sold to sand operators in Nagpur for amounts ranging between Rs 6,000 and Rs 10,000 per ETP

Using these fabricated permits, sand illegally mined from ghats in and around Nagpur was transported while official records falsely showed the origin of the material as authorised sand ghats in Madhya Pradesh. Although the vehicle numbers mentioned in the ETPs appeared valid on the government portal, GPS data analysis revealed that the vehicles never travelled to the Madhya Pradesh locations. Instead, during the same time period, they were found making repeated trips from illegal sand ghats near Nagpur.

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The ED said the accused earned substantial illegal profits through this modus operandi, causing significant loss to the exchequer by evading royalty and taxes. The proceeds of crime generated from the illegal activities are prima facie estimated to exceed Rs 30 crore.

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