THANE | Oct 26, 2016: A massive cache of 23,000 tonnes of sand illegally extracted from creeks across Thane district valued at Rs 3 crores was seized by the revenue department officials following a raid on Tuesday .

The crackdown led to the arrest of 27 people and dredging equipment such as cranes, pumps and 37 trucks used to transport sand were also seized by the authorities.

"A penalty of around Rs 8 lakh was also recovered from those caught for mechanized extraction of natural resources," said Thane deputy collector Jeevan Galande. Dis trict collector Mahendra Kalyankar told TOI the administration will continue to crackdown on the illegal activities.

"We were tipped off about the illegal dredging operations going on in certain stretches of the creek despite a ban. The revenue department swooped down on the operators," said Kalyankar.Revenue officials from Thane district said nearly 50 raids had been ordered against illegal sand miners this year.

(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)