Ahead of the crucial 2026 Assembly elections, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has struck a massive blow to the illegal coal and sand smuggling network in West Bengal. On Monday, following a grueling interrogation at the CGO Complex in Salt Lake, the central agency arrested two key kingpins—Chinmoy Mondal and his nephew Kiran Khan.

Chinmoy Mondal, a resident of Purulia with upscale offices in Durgapur’s Ambuja Nagari and Bidhannagar, is allegedly a heavyweight in the coal smuggling circuit. His nephew, Kiran Khan from Raniganj, is suspected of heading the illegal sand mining operations. Together, they reportedly operated a sophisticated syndicate centered around the Asansol and Durgapur sub-divisions, funneling illegal minerals to industrial units and the black market.

The investigation has revealed that the duo managed massive cash transactions worth crores. To legitimize this “black money,” the syndicate utilized a web of shell companies and benami bank accounts. Earlier raids conducted by the ED had yielded significant amounts of unaccounted cash and digital evidence linking the duo to influential brokers and political middlemen.

According to ED sources, the arrests were made after the suspects failed to provide coherent answers regarding the recovered documents and financial trails. The agency is now keen to uncover the “bigger players” involved in this multi-layered corruption scandal. As Bengal gears up for the polls, these high-profile arrests are expected to heat up the political landscape.