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Police in provinces along the Yangtze River will enhance coordination
to crack down on the illegal mining, transport and sale of river sand,
the Ministry of Public Security said on Monday. Joint efforts will be made by public security organs and other
departments to improve information sharing and cross-department
consultation and investigate "protective umbrellas" behind such crimes,
said Li Jingsheng, director of the ministry's security administration. Li said the Yangtze River Protection Law, which came into effect on
Monday, provides a sound legal guarantee for the protection of the
Yangtze, Asia's longest river. Illegal sand mining could endanger ecosystems, flood-control efforts
and the waterway itself, as well as coordinated environmental
conservation, he said. River sand has always been a hot commodity in the construction
market. Large-scale illegal sand mining in the Yangtze River Basin has
been significantly reduced in recent years due to a strict crackdown,
but many people are still seduced by the prospect of high profits and
have resorted to more advanced and secretive ways to commit crimes, Li
said. In January, the ministry launched a yearlong operation against
illegal sand mining in the Yangtze River. Public security organs in the
10 provinces and municipalities along the Yangtze－Shanghai, Jiangsu,
Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou and
Yunnan－deployed personnel to bust criminals illegally mining,
transporting and selling river sand. Police have investigated 85 criminal cases related to sand mining and
have arrested 236 suspects. They also busted 24 criminal gangs engaged
in illegal sand mining, captured 73 ships, and seized other assets worth
about 17 million yuan ($2.63 million). As the authorities have stepped up their crackdown on illegal sand
mining in the mainstream of the river, violators are shifting to its
tributaries and lakes, mostly on provincial boundaries. Some hide in
inaccessible branches and estuaries waiting for opportunities, said Tian
Weijun, an official from the security administration. Tian said violators use small vessels and work at night or on rainy
or foggy days to avoid investigation. Some even refit their ships to
resemble regular cargo ships, adding to the difficulties of law
enforcement officers conducting inspections. The illegal sand mining groups usually have fixed members and a clear
division of labor, such as mining and monitoring posts, he said. Some
members are responsible for monitoring the ships of law enforcement
departments, and warn others once an operation is launched. Members on the mining ships would then stop mining, leave the site or
destroy evidence in advance by dumping river sand they had collected
into the river, he said. In one case in January, the Wuhu branch of the Yangtze River Shipping
Public Security Bureau in Anhui province destroyed an illegal sand
mining gang and captured 11 suspects and seized over 2,800 metric tons
of sand. From December to January, the group had illegally mined sand in the
Yangtze's Tongling section in Anhui many times and had sold 20,000 tons
of sand.
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