On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we take a look at the global Sand Mafia. Sand seems like a strange thing for organized crime to mess with, but it has become a global, dangerous phenomenon. With 50 billion tons of sand consumed globally, third world countries are selling off their sand through a mysterious system of third party corporations. Though sand is legal, the way it is mined is not. So, how dangerous is the Sand Mafia? Where do they operate? How much political pull do they have? How many people have they killed? What countries import the most illegal sand? Why is this so devastating to the environment? Listen, laugh, learn.

 

Visit Our Sources:

Vice Documentary

More Deadly Than Being a Soldier in a War Zone: Environmental Activists Killed for Defending Planet Have Doubled in 15 Years (newsweek.com)

Nat Geo Video

Forbes Video

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a39880899/earth-is-running-out-of-sand/

https://theworld.org/stories/2015-04-03/worlds-deadly-war-over-sand-7-things-you-need-know

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-11/illegal-sand-trade-india-mafia-murders-vince-beiser/11779570

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_theft

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/feb/28/sand-mafias-killing-each-other-build-cities

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/out-of-eden-walk/articles/2019-06-sand-mafia/