In a joint operation conducted by mines and minerals department and VAT department of Gujarat Government, eight containers of river bed sand worth Rs 2.25 crore being sent to Mumbai were seized on Saturday.

One large container from Surat , three from Sanjan and four from Chotta Udaipur were seized by the officials. The state government has banned the sale and transport of river bed sand to other states. Officials also sealed block No L6 , sand mining lease site at Gai Pagla in Kamrej Taluka on Saturday as the lease holder was found to be filling up more sand in the truck than permitted and was digging out sand from other areas too. tnn

A Surat district collectorate official said , "Five flying squad teams from mining and VAT departments raided these places. The seized goods have been handed over to local police. A vigilance team also raided all the lease sites on Saturday. In L6 block, irregularities were found and so all the royalty books were seized and the block was sealed ."

VY Vyasa, secretary, mining, state government, who visited the diamond city a few days ago, is believed to have ordered the raids. He was not available for comments.