Two arrested for illegal sand and gravel mining from Malir River

KARACHI: Police have arrested two suspects for illegally extracting sand and gravel (reti bajri) from the Malir River, officials said on Sunday.

According to police, the suspects were using heavy machinery to remove large quantities of river silt in Karachi’s Malir district.

During the operation, authorities seized two dumpers and loaders, which have been transferred to the police station.

The Mines and Minerals Department, alongside police, conducted the raid and arrested both suspects along with the equipment. Police said the group had been involved in stealing sand from the Malir River under the cover of darkness.

The act violates Section 3 of the Sindh (Prohibition of Taking Minerals Including Reti (Sand) and Bajri From Any Land) Act 2003.

Earlier this year, a series of earthquakes were reported in Karachi.

On June 5, 2025, ARY News reported that the National Seismic Monitoring Centre (NSMC) confirmed a 2.1-magnitude tremor felt at 2:53 pm on Thursday afternoon. According to the NSMC, the quake’s epicentre was located at a depth of 5 kilometres.

Karachi residents have reported feeling multiple mild tremors since Sunday evening, particularly in the areas of Landhi, Malir, Quaidabad, and Gadap.

On June 4, the Met Office stated that 26 earthquake shocks had been recorded in the city since the first tremor on Sunday evening. The sequence of minor quakes continued to jolt the port city’s eastern neighbourhoods, including Malir, Quaidabad, Landhi, and Gadap.

According to the NSMC, the earthquakes recorded since Sunday ranged from a maximum intensity of 3.6 on the Richter scale to a minimum of 2.0.