CHENNAI: Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths had wrapped up their raids at Tasmac Sunday early morning and vacated the Tasmac headquarters in Egmore by 1.30 am.
The search operation had begun on Thursday at over 25 locations across Tamil Nadu including Chennai. The raids continued for more than three days.
Searches were carried out at the office of Tasmac’s senior executives as well as in corporate offices and bottling plants of the distilleries and breweries that supply liquor to the corporation along with the premises linked to key associates of electricity prohibition and excise minister V Senthil Balaji.
ED searches were targeted places linked to Balaji in the city and other parts, as well as offices of the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), breweries, and distilleries as part of a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities on liquor purchase.
According to sources the ED’s fresh investigation against Senthil Balaji is first information reports filed by DVAC against TASMAC managers and employees and related cash seizures during surprise checks in the past. The ED has yet to disclose the details of seizures during the raids.