Binh Thuan cracks down on illegal sand mining

After VOV’s report on illegal sand mining, which caused outrage among residents last year, a supervision team was established by the district’s People’s Committee. The nine supervisors are officers of the district’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment, police officers, leaders of the commune’s People’s Committee and the army.

Nguyen Thanh Giang, commander of the Ham Liem commune’s army, said the supervisors regularly patrolled areas of illegal mineral exploitation in the commune and were often threatened by sand miners covertly driving trucks into the mining area at night.

According to the report, the path leading to the commune centre is now free of sand miners. Sand dredging vehicles have also been moved.

Although sand mining has ended, the supervision team is still patrolling round the clock to ensure it does not resume, Le Thanh Cuong, Chairman of Ham Liem communal People’s Committee, said.

Ham Liem commune is home to a huge amount of high-quality sand right next to Phan Thiet city. The demand for sand in Ham Thuan Bac district and Phan Thiet city is relatively high, posing a high risk of sand mining resuming in the future.