Illegal sand mining case: Collectors of 5 T.N. districts appear before ED
Ocials of the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday examined Collectors of ve districts — Ariyalur, Karur, Thanjavur, Tiruchi and Vellore — as part of the ongoing probe into allegations of money laundering, involving a huge quantity of illegally mined sand in the State.
Complying with the orders of the Supreme Court which directed the Collectors to appear and respond to the summons issued by the ED in the illegal sand mining case, the IAS ocers appeared before a team of investigators, headed by
The Central agency unearthed many incriminating documents after conducting searches at various places across the State.
the Joint Director, Chennai Zone – I, sources in the intelligence agencies said.
Questionnaire given
The Collectors were given a questionnaire on sand mining operations in their respective districts, as regards
extent of sand mining sites, quantity of excavation permitted, etc. The Collectors were examined individually during questioning that went on for a few hours, sources said.
After conducting searches at river sand mining sites and stockyards, ofce and residential premises of suspects at multiple locations, across Tamil Nadu on September 12, 2023, the ED unearthed several incriminating documents, such as fake bills of sand sales and counterfeit QR codes which pointed to GST losses to the Central and State governments.
This is part of the ongoing probe into the allegations of money laundering in the State