Ranchi/Kolkata, Nov 21 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Friday conducted searches in a coordinated money laundering case action against the coal mafia in Jharkhand and West Bengal, official sources said.

More than 40 premises in the two states are being covered as part of the action under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.

In Jharkhand, the agency is covering about 18 locations as part of the investigation related to coal theft and smuggling.

According to the sources, locations of entities named Anil Goyal, Sanjay Udhyog, L B Singh, and Amar Mandal are being covered.

The collective scale of the case involves significant coal pilferage and theft, resulting in a massive financial loss to the government worth hundreds of crores of rupees, the sources said.

In West Bengal, about 24 premises in Durgapur, Purulia, Howrah and Kolkata districts are being covered as part of an investigation into alleged illegal mining, transportation and storage of coal, they said. PTI NES DIV DIV

ED raids against coal mafia targeting alleged coal theft and smuggling under PMLA across Jharkhand and West Bengal. Enforcement Directorate searches over 40 premises in Jharkhand and West Bengal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) investigating alleged large-scale coal pilferage, smuggling and related illegal mining, transportation and storage; operations target locations linked to named entities and are described as probing proceeds that caused government losses amounting to hundreds of crores, with searches deployed as asset-search and evidence-gathering measures to trace alleged money laundering.