A major case of illegal mining has been uncovered in the bed of the Chirchiq River, which flows through the city of Tashkent and the Tashkent region. According to the Department for Combating Economic Crimes under the General Prosecutor's Office, 101,200 cubic meters of sand and gravel were extracted without proper permits, causing damage to the state and society amounting to 1.9 trillion soums.

During an operational raid conducted jointly with the Tashkent city department and the National Committee for Ecology and Climate Change, it was established that responsible officials of LLC 'B.I.' used special equipment to extract sand and gravel, classified as non-metallic minerals, without obtaining the necessary permits.

According to law enforcement, the volume of illegally extracted sand and gravel totaled 101,200 cubic meters. Preliminary calculations indicate that these actions resulted in damage to state and public interests in the amount of 1.9 trillion soums.

A criminal case has been initiated under Article 169 (Theft) and Article 192-11 (Abuse of authority by officials in a non-state commercial or other non-state organization) of the Criminal Code. Investigative actions are currently underway.

Previously, in Samarkand, illegal sand and gravel extraction from the Zarafshan River caused over 295 billion soums in damage to nature. This incident highlights the need for stricter oversight of natural resource protection.

Source: www.gazeta.uz