File photo of Sand mining
Credit: iStock Photo
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has attached 209 excavator trucks worth crores of rupees as part of a money laundering investigation against some individuals involved in 'illegal' sand mining in Tamil Nadu.
A provisional order for attachment of assets worth a total Rs 130.60 crore has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Out of this, the 209 sand excavators are worth Rs 128.34 crore while Rs 2.25 crore of funds are deposited in 35 bank accounts belonging to individuals named Shanmugam Ramachandran, Karuppaiah Rethinam, Paneerselvam Karikalan and others who are involved in 'unlawful' sand mining activities in Tamil Nadu, the ED said in a statement.
The agency said its money laundering case stems from various FIRs filed by Tamil Nadu Police and 'information gleaned from open sources indicating widespread unauthorised sand mining along river beds and basins of the state'.
During the probe, it was found that the above-mentioned three individuals, along with their associates, formed a 'syndicate' and established a network of companies and firms either under their names or in the names of their relatives and associates, it said.
These entities were found to be engaged in illicit sand mining activities in the state, the ED alleged.
The federal agency said it undertook a 'comprehensive' examination of all sand quarries in Tamil Nadu to determine the status of mining sites.
The expert team's report highlighted instances of 'excessive and illegal' sand mining, much more than the recorded volume documented in the state government's records, it said.
The ED claimed that an analysis of geofencing reports submitted by the manufacturers and suppliers of the excavators utilised in illegal sand mining revealed that the excavators were predominantly deployed 'beyond the permitted quarry area'.
This unequivocally confirmed the occurrence of illegal and excessive sand mining activities, it said.
The agency said it had earlier searched about 17 premises in this case at Chennai, Trichy and Pudukottai and had seized 'unreported' cash amounting to Rs 2.33 crore, gold jewellery worth Rs 56.86 lakh and numerous other 'incriminating' evidence.
About 30 bank accounts with a cumulative balance of around Rs 13 crore were also frozen then, it said.