Police team raided an illegal sand mining site in Bhandara district in Maharashtra (Representational)
A police team raided an illegal sand mining site in Bhandara district in Maharashtra after decorating their vehicles to pass off as a wedding procession, an official said on Saturday.
The raid, carried out in Khatkheda Ghat in Paoni tehsil, some 65 kilometres from Nagpur, in the early hours of Friday led to the arrest of nine persons and seizure of 12 tipper trucks, eight excavators and sand, all valued at Rs 3.6 crore, an official said.
"A team under Bhandara SP Arvind Sale travelled a distance of 150 kilometres via Chandrapur district in three private vehicles which were decorated like the ones seen in marriage processions in these parts to raid the illegal mining site," he said.
Nagpur Range Inspector General of Police KMM Prasanna said the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) may be invoked in the case.