Major crackdown on illegal mining leads to 19 arrests, recovery of 245 MT sand, and seizure of 24 vehicles in State

In a multi-district crackdown, the Vigilance & Enforcement (V&E) Department arrested 19 persons, apart from identifying about 30 accused including organisers, and recovered approximately 245 metric tonnes of illegally mined sand during surprise raids conducted on February 19 and 20, 2026.

Following tip-offs, V&E units from Karimnagar, Warangal and RC Puram carried out coordinated raids across five mandals in Jagtial, Hanamkonda and Nizamabad districts. The operations targeted illegal sand excavation and transportation networks operating in Bommena village in Jagtial, Kakkiralapally X Road and Akeru Vagu in Hanamkonda and Sirikonda in Nizamabad district.

Officials seized a total of 24 vehicles and machinery units, including six excavators, two lorries, one tipper and 15 tractors that were being used for illegal excavation and transportation of sand.

Investigations revealed that the syndicates adopted a two-phase strategy to evade detection. During daytime, tractors were used to discreetly excavate sand from riverbeds such as Akeru Vagu and Dondla Vagu and transport it to nearby private agricultural lands for temporary stockpiling.

At night, the operation intensified with deployment of heavy machinery to load the stockpiled sand into lorries and tippers for rapid transportation, aiming to avoid enforcement checks.

Multiple criminal cases have been registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, the Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act and the Motor Vehicles Act.

The Director General of the Vigilance & Enforcement Department said the raids were part of a broader effort to curb the theft of State resources and prevent leakage of public revenue. The department urged citizens to report instances of illegal sand mining or misuse of government resources by calling the toll-free number 14432.