MUMBAI, Feb. 24 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has unearthed a large-scale illegal sand mining racket operating in Nagpur and Bhandara districts of Vidarbha, allegedly using fabricated Electronic Transit Permits (ETPs) from Madhya Pradesh to pass off illegally excavated sand as legally sourced material. The agency has pegged the proceeds of crime at over Rs.30 crore. According to ED officials, multiple organised networks extracted sand from river ghats in and around Nagpur and Bhandara despite restrictions on mining. The syndicates allegedly procured fake ETPs purportedly issued for mining and transport operations in Madhya Pradesh, enabling them to show on paper that the sand originated from leased ghats in the neighbouring state. Each forged ETP was allegedly purchased for Rs.6,000 to Rs.10,000 from a fraud network based in Madhya Pradesh. The permits carried vehicle numbers that appeared valid on government portals. However, analysis of the vehicles' GPS data told a different story. "The GPS data revealed that the vehicles mentioned in the ETPs never travelled to the Madhya Pradesh locations cited in the permits. Instead, during the same period, they made repeated trips from illegal sand ghats in and around Nagpur," an ED official said. On January 9, the ED conducted searches at 16 premises in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh - including Bhopal, Hoshangabad, Betul and Nagpur. The agency said it seized unaccounted cash worth Rs.38.43 lakh, froze bank deposits of Rs.1.34 crore and impounded eight vehicles, including four hydraulic excavators and a BMW car. Investigators also recovered documents, property papers and digital devices that allegedly point to large-scale illegal excavation, generation of unlawful proceeds and investment in immovable properties. The ED claimed that one of the syndicates was allegedly operated by two men, Rahul and Bablu, from Madhya Pradesh. They are accused of preparing forged ETPs showing legal authorisation linked to leased sand ghats in MP and supplying them on demand to illegal sand mining operators in Nagpur and Bhandara....