Enforcement Directorate (ED) has intensified its investigation into the state’s sprawling sand smuggling racket, launching simultaneous search operations across multiple locations in West Bengal on Thursday morning. Teams of ED officials, accompanied by central security forces, launched coordinated raids in Kolkata, Jhargram, and Asansol, targeting individuals and business establishments suspected of involvement in the illegal trade.
According to sources, the central agency had planned to raid the office of a company on Bentinck Street in central Kolkata. However, officials reportedly faced difficulties entering the premises during the early hours.
Meanwhile, in Asansol’s Murgashol area, a search was underway at the residence of businessman Manish Bagaria, who has allegedly been involved in the sand smuggling trade for several years, local sources said.
ED officials confirmed that Thursday’s operation stems from intelligence gathered during earlier raids conducted last week. Investigators are now focusing on uncovering financial trails, property links, and money-laundering routes connected to the illegal sand business. Several documents and digital records have already been seized for forensic examination.
“Names of several individuals and organisations have surfaced in connection with suspicious financial transactions and asset formation. Today’s operation is aimed at following those leads,” an ED official said.
The search operations are expected to continue throughout the day, with investigators hopeful of unearthing new links within what they believe is a statewide network involving multiple districts and influential figures.
This comes just days after the ED’s earlier round of raids on October 9, when simultaneous searches were carried out in Midnapore, Jhargram and Asansol. During that operation, officials recovered a significant amount of unaccounted cash — Rs 65 lakh from the residence of Saurabh Roy in Medinipur and Rs 25 lakh from a sand trader’s house in Gopiballabhpur.
Those findings, along with other seized documents, reportedly led to Thursday’s renewed search effort. ED insiders suggest that the investigation could soon widen further as the agency attempts to map the entire financial and political ecosystem supporting the illegal sand trade in West Bengal.
Follow us
