'Sand bandits' jump into river when surrounded by police
Discovering the police surrounding them, many sand theft suspects rushed into the river to escape but were chased and restrained.
In the early morning of July 15, a working group of the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department of Waterway Traffic Police patrolled the Dong Nai River (Thu Duc City). When reaching the section in Long Phuoc Ward, the police discovered many people on boats and barges illegally dredging sand.
Seeing the police canoes approaching, the people on the boat quickly jumped into the river and swam towards the Dong Nai province shore. The task force chased and restrained at least 4 people.
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| One of the sand theft suspects. Photo:Tuong Van |
They admitted to illegally mining sand in the area. Police seized two boats, two barges, and more than 40 cubic meters of sand that the group had just mined. The Waterway Traffic Police Department is coordinating with many units to handle and investigate.
Illegal sand mining is considered to be increasingly serious, negatively affecting the environment and regional security... especially in the Can Gio sea area (bordering provinces and Ho Chi Minh City). The reason is the scarcity of construction materials, especially sand for filling. Authorities face many difficulties in handling the case because the sanctions are too light and the regulations are lax.
