Sonepur, Sep 25: The Department of Steel & Mines has seized around 1500 tons of white stone in Sonepur during a raid on illegal mining.

The department officials had conducted raids at multiple locations in Birmaharajpur tehsil of Sonepur district. The officials acted after reports of illegal mining of mineral resources — such as white stones, quartz, Aquamarine, gemstones, etc — in multiple localities, including Telipali, Ludumunda, Amatpali, Bahalpadar and Bhaludunguri.

The Mines Department also seized few vehicles, which were used to smuggle these mineral resources, slapping fines. Despite all this, the smugglers continued with the illegal mining.

After coming to the notice, Odisha government issued an order leading to the formation of a team, comprising a special police team from Bhubaneswar, along with mining department officials from Sonepur and Balangir. The raid team was led by DDM Veer Kishore Tirky.

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As per the reports, a massive amount of white stone was stored at various locations following the illegal mining. The seized white stones are now being supervised by the license holders in Gopapali and Bankia area.

Reports suggest that the raids will continue until the entire illegal mining and smuggling network are not being busted.