Rajamahendravaram: Two trucks transporting sand with fake way bills were seized during a joint operation by the District Mines and Geology Department and the District Task Force in the early hours of Sunday at Prakkilanka village.

District Mines Officer D Phani Bhushan Reddy said the teams conducted surprise checks and inspected two vehicles bearing registration numbers AP39TQ0007 and AP37TE6979. On verification, fake sand way bills were detected. The QR codes shown by the drivers were scanned using the Vigilance App for Sand Bills, but no dispatch details were found either in the app or on the Andhra Pradesh Sand Management System portal.

Officials said the fonts on the way bills differed from the original format, raising suspicion and prompting a detailed examination, which confirmed that the documents were fake. The two trucks were seized and handed over to the Tallapudi police station.

Further inquiry revealed that the fake way bills were issued by the Ganesh Boatsmen and Sand Workers Cooperative Society Limited, which had been selected as the agency for sand transportation after desilting at the Prakkilanka 1 desilting reach. Officials instructed the police to register an FIR and take action under relevant sections of the law.

As a follow-up measure, the sand supply point login ID of the society was blocked. The District Mines Officer warned that strict action would be taken against agencies found issuing fake waybills, including cancellation of agency permissions. District Mines and Geology Department surveyor Patnala Srinivas, District Task Force SI Anjaneyulu, and others took part in the operation.