Crackdown On Coal Mafia : ED Seize Rs 14 Crores In Cash And Gold

The Enforcement Directorate. has seized over ₹14 crore in cash and gold following extensive searches in West Bengal and Jharkhand. The money laundering probe is linked to a major coal mafia syndicate involved

in illegal mining, storage, transportation, and illegal toll collection. The federal probe agency made the claim after completing searches that began on Friday. The ED carried out coordinated searches at 44 locations across West Bengal and Jharkhand. "During the search action, cash and jewellery, gold amounting to more than ₹14 crore along with a substantial volume of incriminating evidence were found and seized. This includes various property deeds linked to the coal syndicate, agreements related to the sale and purchase of land, several digital devices, and books of accounts of entities controlled by the said persons," Enforcement Directorate said in a statement on Saturday The ED also claimed that searches conducted at three coke plants in West Bengal identified approximately 7.9 lakh Metric Tonnes of coal and coal aggregates being stored illegally. The ED's case stems from a bunch of First Information Reports (FIRs) filed in West Bengal and Jharkhand pertaining to illegal coal smuggling between the two states. The FIRs had alleged that a vast network is operating across the West Bengal-Jharkhand border, involved in the illegal supply of coal from Jharkhand into West Bengal without any valid documents."The documents and other records seized during the searches have corroborated the allegations leveled in the FIRs and led to the identification of an organized racket," ED said operating with the help of local authorities. Enforcement Directorate allegations(a) A syndicate is highly active in the border areas of West Bengal and Jharkhand and has generated huge proceeds of crime.(b) Diaries and registers containing descriptions of illegal cash collection and their beneficiaries have also been recovered. The probe agency said it carried out coordinated searches, which began on Friday, involved more than 100 ED officials along with CRPF personnel. The anti-money laundering probe agency raided 20 premises in Jharkhand's Dhanbad and Dumka. "Searches were carried out at premises linked to Lal Bahadur Singh, Anil Goyal, Sanjay Khemka, Amar Mondal, and their associated entities," officials saidThe 24 premises in West Bengal are located in Durgapur, Purulia, Howrah, and Kolkata. "The searches in West Bengal were conducted across various residential premises, offices, illegal toll collection booths, and coke plants linked to Narendra Kharka, Krishna Murari Kayal, Yudhishthir Ghosh, Raj Kishore Yadav, Lokesh Singh, Chinmay Mondal, Nirad Baran Mondal, and others." ED said.