Giridih police launched an anti-coal smuggling drive in the Maoist-hit Pardih, Nainadih and Ojhadih areas of Bengabad block on Saturday evening and seized 20 bullock carts and 10 motorbikes loaded with 20 tonnes of illegal coal, said Giridih superintendent of police SK Jha. Sources said that illegal mining activities of coal smugglers in the forest have also been busted.

The intention of the police was to break the financial backbone of the coal smugglers apart from curbing illegal trade of coals.

Sources said illegal coal mining in these forests is a major revenue generation point for local coal smugglers. 

A team of police personnel of Bengabad police equipped with hi-tech weapons raided the forest area of Pardih, Nainadih, and Ojhadih villages forest and found several illegal mines from which coal smugglers excavate coal with the help of local residents and transport it outside the district. The police team, on reaching the spot, found huge stocks of coal dumped in front of the illegal mines which were being loaded on to bullock carts. The workers, sensing trouble, had fled from the site when police arrived. As many as 20 bullock cart with more than 20 tonnes of coal were seized.

Police also recovered 10 motorbikes and dozen cycles were recovered, said an official.

The SP said this is the second time when police had recovered illegal coal from the villages. "Few months ago, police had seized 50 bullock carts from the same area.

A police officer who was part of the raid team including Officer in-Charge Faiz Rabani, ASI Bhola Saw and Jitendra Ram said that before escaping, the coal mafia had punctured a tyre of motorbikes to prevent police from taking it to the police station. In the past 12 months, police have recovered illegal coal worth around Rs 50 lakh through raids at different places of the district," he said.