New Delhi, Sept 4:
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted searches at around 30 locations across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Telangana as part of multiple money-laundering investigations linked to drug-smuggling networks.
The searches were carried out in connection with eight separate cases involving suspected drug trafficking and financial transactions linked to the proceeds of crime, officials said.
The agency is examining the financial networks of more than two dozen alleged offenders and investigating suspected foreign links to the drug operations.
The searches form part of the Centre’s wider campaign against drug trafficking under the ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat’ initiative.
Investigators are examining financial records and other material to trace the flow of funds allegedly generated through illegal drug activities and identify individuals and entities involved in laundering the proceeds.
The multi-State operation highlights the increasing focus of enforcement agencies on the financial networks supporting organised drug trafficking rather than restricting investigations to the seizure of narcotics alone.