Nagpur, Jan 16 : The ED conducted simultaneous searches at 16 locations across Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra before freezing bank balance worth Rs 1.34 crore and seizing Rs 38.43 lakh cash, a BMW and seven other vehicles in a case linked to illegal sand mining, an official said on Friday.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Nagpur Sub-Zonal Office, carried out search operations under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, at premises located in Bhopal, Hoshangabad and Betul Districts of Madhya Pradesh and Nagpur and Bhandra Districts of Maharashtra.

The ED initiated an investigation based on offences registered under various Sections of IPC, 1860, at Sadar and Ambazari Police Station of Nagpur City against Narendra Pimple, Amol alias Guddu Khorgade and others in connection with alleged sand mining from river banks located in and around Nagpur and Bhandra Districts of Maharashtra.

The Proceeds of Crime (POC) generated from these illegal activities are prima facie estimated to be more than Rs 30 crore, the ED said.

The search operation led to the seizure of unaccounted/unexplainable cash of Rs 38.43 lakh, voluminous incriminating documents/records/property papers, digital devices containing evidence of illegal sand mining, and thereby deriving huge POC and investing the same in the acquisition of properties, the ED said.

The seized vehicles included three SUVs, two JCB Machines and two Pokland Machines, the agency said.

The accused named in the FIR were allegedly running an organised illegal sand mining operation by using forged and fake Electronic Transit Permits to extract, transport and sell sand unlawfully, said a statement.

It was revealed that despite the sand ghats around Nagpur being closed, the mafia, in collusion with transporters and others, were actively engaged in illegal mining and receiving fake royalties from Madhya Pradesh and using the same to sell illegal sand in Nagpur.

Several such cases have been booked by the police, the ED said.

Investigation has shown that a syndicate led by one Rahul Khanna and Bablu Agarwal was preparing false and fabricated Electronic Transit Permits (ETPs) in the name of legally leased sand ghats located in Madhya Pradesh, the ED said.

These fake ETPs were sold to sand mafia operators in Nagpur for amounts ranging from Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000 per ETP. Using these fake ETPs, the sand mafia operators transported illegally excavated sand from sand ghats located in Nagpur and nearby areas, the ED said.

However, in government records, they falsely showed that the sand was loaded from legally leased ghats in Madhya Pradesh.

The vehicle numbers mentioned in the ETPs were also shown as valid and registered on the government portal. However, analysis of GPS data of these vehicles revealed that the vehicles never travelled to the Madhya Pradesh ghats as mentioned in the ETPs, the ED said.

/IANS