ED Crackdown on Illegal Coal Syndicates in Assam and Meghalaya

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Shillong Sub-Zonal Office, carried out extensive search operations on April 24, 2025, across 15 locations in Assam and Meghalaya, targeting illegal coal mining and unauthorized coke plants. The searches were conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and were based on an FIR registered at Shallang Police Station in Meghalaya, invoking sections of the IPC, MMDR Act, Environment Protection Act, Explosive Substances Act, and the Benami Transaction Act.

Search operations were conducted in Jadigittim and Nongalbibra in South Garo Hills, Jogighopa (Bongaigaon), Margherita (Tinsukia), and Guwahati, exposing a deep-rooted coal syndicate operating across state lines. ED officials seized ₹1.58 crore in cash, digital devices including laptops and mobile phones, two high-end luxury vehicles, and several incriminating documents, including ledgers and diaries recording cash transactions.

The investigation revealed rampant illegal rat-hole mining in the South Garo Hills using primitive tools, with 20 illegal mines operating in the Era Aning and Goreng areas. Labourers, including a few of unverified nationality, were handed over to local police for further inquiry. It was estimated that 5–7 trucks were loaded daily from each mine, each carrying 12–16 tonnes of coal, amounting to around 1,200 tonnes of illegal coal extraction per day.

Mine owners reportedly earned ₹5,000–10,000 net profit per truck, and syndicate members charged ₹1.27–1.5 lakh per truck for “clearance” from Meghalaya to Assam. Once in Assam, fake documentation was created to make the coal appear legally sourced. The illegally mined coal was stored at depots in Jogighopa and then supplied to cement factories, brick kilns, steel industries, and illegal coke plants across the Northeastern region.

The syndicate maintained extensive records of cash transactions and engaged in a widespread fake invoicing racket. The seized diaries detailed inflows and outflows of funds, and evidence linked the coal syndicate to illegal coke plants in Margherita, Tinsukia.

Further investigation is ongoing.

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