Ahmedabad

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached 14 immovable properties worth Rs 11.3 crore in Godhra town of Gujarat’s Panchmahal district in connection with an alleged khair wood smuggling racket, officials said on Saturday.

The properties have been attached under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the ED said in a statement.

The accused in the case, including Mustaq Adam Tasiya and Mohammed Tahir Hussain, were involved in the illegal cutting of khair trees from wildlife sanctuaries in Tapi, Surat, Valsad, Navsari, Narmada and other districts across Gujarat without permission from forest authorities, it said.

Khair wood comes from Acacia catechu, a deciduous tree valued for its dense, durable timber and high tannin content. It is widely used in traditional medicine, dyeing, and as a source of ‘kattha’ used in paan.

The illegally chopped wood was transported and sold across state borders, the agency said, adding that the activities not only resulted in large-scale destruction of forest resources but also caused damage to the natural wildlife habitat.

The ED said Tasiya and Hussain, in connivance with several accomplices, were continuously engaged in the unauthorised felling of khair trees. The wood was allegedly sold in the grey market.

“These illegal activities caused huge losses to the government exchequer and led to the generation of proceeds of crime running into crores of rupees,” the agency said.

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Following an investigation, the ED identified and provisionally attached assets linked to the accused persons, amounting to Rs 11.3 crore, the statement said. The attached properties include 14 immovable assets located in the Godhra district, it said.

The money laundering probe was initiated after a First Offence Report was registered in 2024 by the Range Forest Officer, Mandvi South Range in Surat district, over alleged smuggling of khair wood in violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, it added.