COIMBATORE: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on Thursday have been conducting searches in the properties close to the state Minister V Senthil Balaji at seven places in Coimbatore and Karur as part of a money laundering investigation, official sources said.
In Coimbatore, there are three places - a house of Tasmac supervisor Muthubalan at Maniyam Subramaniyar Street of 80 feet road in Ramanathapuram, office and house premises of a private construction firm namely Arun & Associates at Nadar Street on Trichy road- brought under the Enforcement Directorate's scanning.
The raids begin in the morning and are carried out with the protection of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The Enforcement Directorate officials came by vehicles bearing Kerala registration, said sources.
Similarly in Karur, the searches are being carried out at three places on Thursday.
According to the sources, the ED officials begin their search at the finance office at Sengunthapuram and the house at Ambal Nagar belonging to Senthil Balaji's personal assistant Shankar.
The remaining two places are identified as the house and office of a private tile showroom owner Prakash, a Rajasthan native. He was running a tile showroom in the name of Dhanalakshmi Ceramics and the house was located at Chinna Anadavar Kovil Street in Karur.
Searches are being undertaken under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.