Illegal sand extraction has become a highly profitable and low-risk criminal activity throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, with powerful gangs engaging in the trade. In Brazil, groups like Zinho’s operate in this underworld, supplying sand to the real estate market and monopolizing services to residents of illegal buildings, resulting in collapses. The lack of effective regulation has led to environmental damage, as well as violence and corruption. In Colombia, illegal sand mining is also widespread, with political and economic elites involved in the trade. In Mexico, corruption allows legal companies to flaunt regulations, with links to the US market.
https://insightcrime.org/news/the-mafias-behind-sand-trafficking-in-latin-america/