Kolkata, Sept. 9 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday seized around Rs 90 lakh during raids at 22 locations across Bengal in connection with its probe into illegal sand mining and smuggling.
Searches were carried out in Kolkata, Salt Lake, Nadia, Jhargram and West Midnapore, with multiple ED teams launching operations simultaneously. In Kolkata, officials raided the Regent Park residence of an insurance agent, suspecting that proceeds from illegal sand mining were being funnelled into insurance policies to launder black money.
At the Jamunabali residence of sand trader Sourav Roy in West Midnapore, ED officials recovered about Rs 65 lakh. Roy, who reportedly owns several sand mines in Jhargram and operates from Lalgarh, is accused of forging sand-carrying orders, causing significant losses to the state exchequer.
Another team raided the Gopiballavpur residence of Sheikh Zahirul, also a sand trader. Once a village police, Zahirul left his job to enter the sand trade. Officials reportedly seized about Rs 25 lakh from his house.
In parallel raids, ED teams searched the residence of a mining company director in Kalyani and his office, where several incriminating documents were recovered.
Investigators said they found multiple trucks being operated with identical ID codes, allegedly to facilitate illegal sand transport.
Raids were also conducted at the residence of another insurance agent in Kolkata, with investigators suspecting that illegal proceeds were being channelled into insurance investments.
The agency said the raids were part of its continuing drive to track the money trail from sand mining operations that allegedly generate large volumes of unaccounted cash.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.