Illegal sand mining profits exceeded 4 million yuan and was sentenced!

River sand is an important mineral resource and an important part of the riverbed, which plays an important role in maintaining the balance of water and sediment, biodiversity and dike stability. However, there are still people who illegally mine sand in the Yellow River to make profits, which seriously endangers the stability of the river regime, flood control safety and ecological environment of the Yellow River Basin. During the special regulation operation of illegal sand mining in

Henan Province, the Sanmenxia River Chief Office, based on the clues grasped in the early stage, gave full play to the working mechanism of "river length plus", water administrative law enforcement and judicial coordination. The Municipal Procuratorate, the Yellow River Bureau of Western Henan Province and the Forest Public Security Bureau of Lingbao City were jointly organized to conduct an unannounced inspection of the Sanmenxia Reservoir section in the lower reaches of the Shahe River, and two people were found to be carrying out illegal sand mining. At the scene of

joint law enforcement, the law enforcement officers of the Water Administration Supervision Detachment of Yuxi River Bureau made an inquiry record.

After investigation, from 2016 to May 2022, the defendant Yao Mouqiang, without obtaining a sand mining license, hired Liu Mou-mou, Hu Mou-mou and others to illegally mine sand in the Shahe River (tributary of the Yellow River) in Xiyan Township, Lingbao City, by means of pumps and sand dredgers, which seriously endangered the ecological and river regime stability of the Yellow River Basin. Yao Mouqiang sold the illegally excavated river sand to the outside world with a sales amount of more than 3.98 million yuan. The public security organs also seized 490.24 tons of unsold Yellow River sand at the scene of the case, worth more than 27000 yuan.

After investigation and evidence collection, in the process of examination and approval of arrest, Luoyang Railway Procuratorate took compulsory measures to arrest Yao Mouqiang according to law, considering that the amount of illegal exploitation of river sand by Yao Mouqiang was as high as 4 million yuan and refused to confess the crime. As a

result

, on January 11, 2023, Luoyang Railway Procuratorate prosecuted Yao Mouqiang to Zhengzhou Railway Transport Court for the crime of illegal mining in accordance with the provisions of centralized jurisdiction of environmental resources trial in Henan Province. On January 17, Zhengzhou Railway Transport Court made a judgment on the case in the first instance, adopted all the facts and sentencing recommendations charged by the procuratorial organs, sentenced Yao Mouqiang to three years'imprisonment and a fine of 30000 yuan, and handled the illegal sand mining vessels and other crime tools by the seizure organ according to law. Yao Mouqiang pleaded guilty in court.

In view of the problems reflected in this case, such as inadequate supervision and untimely investigation and punishment, Luoyang Railway Inspection Institute issued procuratorial suggestions on social governance to the people's government of Xiyan Township, Lingbao City, in accordance with the law, suggesting that inspection efforts should be strengthened, cooperation should be strengthened to form a joint force of supervision, and a long-term supervision mechanism should be established. At present, the sand mining chaos that has lasted for many years has been effectively curbed.

The case reveals that

illegal sand mining in the river has left huge potential safety hazards to the ecological environment and flood discharge safety of the river. In handling cases, the procuratorial organs play an active role, cooperate closely with water conservancy departments, public security organs and local governments, and coordinate governance, so that criminals can be effectively punished, while giving full play to the function of legal supervision, promoting the rectification of similar cases by handling individual cases, achieving the effect of "handling one case, governing one piece", and achieving the goal of "handling one case, governing one piece". It reflects the important role of procuratorial supervision and water administrative law enforcement in the ecological protection of the Yellow River.

For cases of illegal sand mining in the Yellow River Basin, which seriously endangers the ecological and river regime stability of the Yellow River Basin, the water conservancy department finds clues to the cases through the judicial cooperation mechanism of law enforcement, and conducts joint inspections with relevant departments. Procuratorial organs intervene in advance to guide investigation and evidence collection, collect evidence such as fixed amount of stolen goods, and accurately identify the value of illegally exploited river sand and gravel; actively perform their duties according to law to promote the governance of litigation sources, and use procuratorial suggestions to promote social governance through individual cases.