The demand for sand has skyrocketed to such an extent that people are resorting to stealing massive quantities of it.

It may sound unusual, but sand has become one of the most coveted resources globally. The ongoing construction boom has sparked an endless demand for sand, the main ingredient in concrete. Unfortunately, sand is no longer as plentiful as before. When high demand and scarcity collide, smuggling becomes an inevitable consequence.

Introducing the sand mafia.

In India, illegal sand mining is the largest criminal operation in the country. Armed sand mafias in rural villages seize land to remove its surface soil and dig out valuable sand beneath. Off the coast, rogue dredging ships scoop up sand from the ocean floor in broad daylight, with corrupt officials turning a blind eye.

The stolen sand is sold for a hefty sum on the black market, where construction companies in megacities like Mumbai purchase it for their high-rise projects. According to journalist Vince Beiser, who reported on sand theft for Wired and The New York Times, those who oppose the mafia face violence, including police officers.

Filmmaker Denis Delestrac observed similar practices in Morocco while making Sand Wars, a documentary exploring the global sand trade and its environmental consequences.

"The sand mafia [in Morocco] is the second most influential criminal group in the country," Delestrac shares. "We witnessed individuals with shovels taking every last bit of sand from the beach. What was once a thick, white beach now resembles a barren wasteland. It's devastating."

Environmental experts estimate that half of Morocco's construction industry is built with stolen sand. The irony, Delestrac points out, is that much of this sand is used to build resorts for tourists flocking to Morocco for its beaches. If illegal and legal sand extraction continues at its current pace in regions like Morocco, India, and other parts of Asia, there may soon be few beaches remaining.

The United Nations Environment Programme reported in 2014 that "Sand and gravel are the most widely used raw materials on Earth, second only to water. Their consumption far surpasses the natural replenishment rates."

"Eighty percent of everything constructed on Earth is made from concrete," states Delestrac.

And concrete demands a massive amount of sand. To build 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) of highway, it takes 30,000 tons (27,216 metric tons) of sand, while constructing an average concrete house requires 200 tons (181 metric tons), according to Coastal Care, a non-profit focused on beach conservation. A report from the International Monetary Fund reveals that the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai — the tallest building in the world — required 121,254 tons (110,000 metric tons) of concrete and 1.8 million square feet (1.67 million square meters) of glass, another industrial product that heavily relies on sand.

Dubai stands as one of the great (tragic) contradictions in the global sand trade. This thriving desert city, surrounded by vast expanses of sand dunes, depends on sand imports from Australia for its construction needs. This is because desert sand is too smooth and fine. The rough, angular sand necessary for making concrete can only be found near water or in ancient seabed deposits beneath the ground.

Dubai isn't alone in its demand for concrete. A 2014 U.N. report on global urbanization reveals that 54 percent of the world's population now lives in urban environments, which includes 28 megacities—massive urban areas with populations exceeding 10 million. The global sand trade generates $70 billion annually to mine, extract, and ship enough raw material to meet the growing needs for urban housing.

But how long will it take before we run out of sand? Delestrac points out that sand formation is a slow natural process, taking around 20,000 years. Ocean sand begins its journey high in the mountains, where weathering forces break rocks into smaller fragments. These fragments are then carried by rivers and streams into the sea. However, the ocean floor holds only a thin layer of sand, and most significant deposits are found on beaches.

The shortage of natural sand has turned beaches and shorelines into prime targets for both legal and illegal sand mining. The environmental consequences of large-scale sand excavation can be catastrophic. In Indonesia, more than two dozen small islands have vanished due to severe erosion caused by offshore dredging. In the U.S., environmentalists have blamed a Cemex sand mine in California's Monterey Bay for accelerating coastal erosion.

John Gillis, a retired history professor from Rutgers University and author of 'The Human Shore: Seacoasts in History,' argues that the primary victims of sand mining and sand theft are impoverished fishing communities in the developing world.

"As sand becomes increasingly scarce and valuable, its status as a commodity creates significant consequences," Gillis explains. "It disrupts not only the ecological systems of these areas but also their social structures, displacing people who are already struggling to maintain their fragile connection to the coast."

If sand mining continues unchecked, the harm to coastal ecosystems could soon threaten beaches much closer to home.