At heart of ED's Bengal probe is an illegal transport challan system called 'Lala Pad'

NEW DELHI: The West Bengal illegal coal mining racket - origin of the ongoing ED probe against political consultancy firm I-PAC - was run by a syndicate led by Anup Majee, also known within the network as "Lala".

At the heart of the investigation is an illegal transport challan system called "Lala Pad".It functioned as a fake tax invoice issued in the name of non-existent entities for transporting illegal coal, and according to ED, the syndicate used unique identifiers to ensure the consignment reached its intended destination - unrestricted.With each fake challan, a currency note of Rs 10 or Rs 20 was provided to the transporter, who would take a photo of the note while holding it beside the number plate of a truck, dumper or tipper carrying the illegal coal and send the image to the operator of the syndicate, the agency said.The note's serial number and number plate became the 'matching identifiers' - and the photo was then circulated by the operator through WhatsApp to police officials and other govt authorities concerned along the vehicle's route, ensuring the vehicle was not intercepted, or if intercepted, was immediately released, according to ED.The investigation has also uncovered the use of an underground hawala network.

Lala's syndicate supplied illegally excavated coal to certain beneficiary companies in West Bengal for cash, generating proceeds of crime, which was shared with politicians through their designated intermediaries and police officers.Hawala operators transferred cash to beneficiaries and intermediaries authenticating the illegal cash transactions using the unique identifiers, typically the currency note's serial number shared between sender and recipient. Upon verification of the matching note, cash was handed over without any formal documentation, enabling seamless and untraceable movement of funds, the agency said.