ED seizes Rs 14L cash in illegal coke plant case

Guwahati: Enforcement Directorate, Shillong seized over Rs 14 lakh in cash and found several high-value cross-border transactions during its search in several places in Guwahati and Kolkata. This was in connection with a money laundering case related to illegal coke plants in Meghalaya, which were shut down following a Meghalaya high court order.
The Meghalaya high court, through an order in Dec 2022, ordered the shutting down of all coke plants in the state of Meghalaya. An FIR was lodged by the ADC-cum-SDO (civil), Mawshynrut civil sub-division, after a joint operation with the police led to the shutting down of 57 illegal coke plants in the Shallang area of West Khasi Hills District in Meghalaya, as a result of the court order.
The directorate initiated a money laundering investigation based on the FIR registered at the Shallang police station. The directorate, in a press release, said the investigation revealed that the coke plants were demolished because they were operating illegally, some without the required permits and others in violation of environmental regulations.
Investigations revealed that the actual operators of the illegal coke plants were mostly from Assam, and they were running the business of coke plants illegally in Meghalaya. Many coke plants shown to be owned by locals from Meghalaya, were actually run by persons from Assam, the directorate stated.
ED added that investigations also revealed that these illegal coke plants were consuming illegally mined coal and did not have any legal source of coal. During the course of the searches, the directorate sleuths seized several incriminating documents and cash amounting to Rs 14.2 lakh. They also found several high-value cross-border transactions.
Many property documents and a large number of bank and mutual fund accounts were also found, which establish that the illegal coke plant industry in West Khasi Hills District generated substantial proceeds of crime, primarily through the sale of illegally mined coal and processed coke, ED said.