MUMBAI, Jan. 20 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has claimed that its money-laundering investigation into illegal sand mining networks operating in Maharashtra's Nagpur and Bhandara districts has uncovered proceeds of crime estimated at over Rs.30 crore. According to the agency, the syndicates allegedly extracted sand illegally from river ghats in and around Nagpur and Bhandara, but claimed on paper that the sand was mined from leased ghats in Madhya Pradesh. The accused allegedly used forged Electronic Transit Permits (ETP) to pass off the illegally excavated sand as legally sourced material. ED officials said the networks would cite ETPs purportedly issued for mining and transport operations in Madhya Pradesh. However, these documents were later found to be fabricated. The agency's analysis of Global Positioning System (GPS) data of the vehicles mentioned on these permits indicated that the vehicles never travelled to the Madhya Pradesh locations cited in the documents. "Instead, during the same time period as shown in the ETPs, the vehicles made repeated trips from illegal sand ghats in and around Nagpur," an ED official said. During searches conducted on January 9 at 16 premises in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, including in Nagpur, the ED said it seized unaccounted cash of Rs.38.43 lakh and froze bank deposits worth Rs.1.34 crore. The agency also seized eight vehicles, including four hydraulic excavators and a BMW car. Apart from cash and vehicles, the ED said it recovered incriminating documents, records, property papers and digital devices allegedly showing evidence of illegal sand mining, generation of huge unlawful proceeds and investments made to acquire properties. The investigation also revealed that illegal sand mining was allegedly being carried out on a large scale by multiple organised groups which adopted an elaborate modus operandi to avoid detection during transportation, officials said. The ED further claimed that one syndicate, allegedly operated by men identified as R Khanna and B Agarwal, prepared fake ETPs showing legal authorisation linked to leased sand ghats in Madhya Pradesh. These forged permits were allegedly sold to sand mafia operators in Nagpur for Rs.6,000 to Rs.10,000 each, officials said. Using these fake ETPs, operators allegedly transported illegally excavated sand from Nagpur and nearby areas, while government records falsely reflected that the sand had been loaded from legally leased ghats in Madhya Pradesh, the ED said. The vehicle numbers on the permits were shown as valid and registered on the government portal. However, GPS data analysis contradicted these claims, with the vehicles allegedly making repeated trips within Nagpur instead of travelling to Madhya Pradesh, officials added. The agency claimed that the accused earned large unlawful profits and caused heavy losses to the government exchequer by evading royalties and taxes, pegging the proceeds of crime at over Rs.30 crore....