7 vehicles seized, 5 held for illegally transporting sand

Berhampur: Seven sand-laden vehicles were seized by the police at Paralakhemundi in Gajapati district on Thursday and five persons were arrested for allegedly transporting sand illegally from the Vansadhara river bed near Kashinagar.In a special drive to crack down on illegal transportation of sand, police carried out raids in Paralakhemundi town and seized the vehicles. During verification, the vehicles were found to be transporting sand illegally. The drivers also did not have proper documents.“We have registered seven cases against 13 people, including the operators of the vehicles and their owners. Five of them were arrested and their vehicles seized,” said a police officer.