The ships are used by the exploiters to illegally take sand from the Đồng Nai River. — VNA/VNS Photo Công Phong |
ĐỒNG NAI — The Biên Hòa City Economic Police on Friday in the predawn hours discovered dozens of people on three ships illegally sucking and transporting sand on the Đồng Nai River.
Seeing the police, the people shouted to each other and tried to run away.
The police chased them, and caught all of them after half an hour.
Initial investigation showed that all of the ships were equipped with a high-capacity sand sucking system. The police withdrew dozens of cubic metres of sand which had been sucked up.
The people admitted to the police that they drove the two ships slowly along the river to suck sand, and then moved the sand to the remaining ship. The sand then would be sold to sand traders along the Đồng
The police are conducting further investigation on the case based on present law.
Illegal sand mining remains a serious problem in the province during the past years. The Đồng Nai provincial authorities have taken action to fight against illegal sand exploitation on rivers and canals. But the situation has not improved. — VNS