Bhatkal: In a crackdown on illegal sand transportation, police in Bhatkal have seized a Tata Ace vehicle and arrested one person accused of smuggling sand from the Gorte coastal belt under the limits of Belke Gram Panchayat.

The arrested individual has been identified as Ramesh Manjunath Naik (43), a resident of Gorte. Authorities confiscated 35 bags of sand from the vehicle, with an estimated value of ₹5,000.

A case has been registered at the Bhatkal Rural Police Station, and investigations are ongoing under the supervision of CPI Manjunath Lingareddy.