ED arrests businessman in sand mining scam

Kolkata, Nov 6 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday made its first arrest in the alleged sand smuggling case in West Bengal, taking one businessman into custody following multiple raids across the state, an officer said.

The accused, identified as Arun Sharaf, who heads GD Mining Company, was arrested from the Bally area after extensive searches carried out by the central agency sleuths at several locations, including the city's Salt Lake and Behala, where his offices are situated, he said.

"This man had been under the scanner for a long time for his alleged involvement in illegal sand mining and money laundering. He had reportedly obtained sand quarry leases in his own name. However, investigators found that his company extracted sand in excess of permitted limits and diverted the proceeds into several bank accounts," the officer told PTI.

It was suspected that a portion of the funds was transferred abroad through hawala channels, he said, adding that the probe was conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

On Thursday morning, ED officials conducted simultaneous searches at multiple premises linked to the businessman in Jhargram, Paschim Medinipur, and North 24 Parganas districts, he added.

The houses of company staff and truck drivers involved in sand transportation were also searched, the officer said. PTI SCH NN