Chennai, Oct 25 : The Income Tax Department (ITD) on Thursday launched multiple raids at over 100 locations in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh as part of a tax evasion probe against mining and mineral export companies, officials said.

The searches are being conducted at the premises of at least four such business groups in Chennai, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Karaikal in Tamil Nadu and Vishakhapatnam and Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh, they said.

One of the firms identified by ITD officials is V V minerals of Tamil Nadu.

Over 130 ITD officials are conducting the operation with assistance from security and police personnel, they said.

They said the companies that are being searched are involved in mining, processing and export of beach sand minerals in an alleged illegal manner that led the taxman to probe tax evasion charges against them.

The alleged illegal profits earned through this, they said, was subsequently ploughed for investments into other businesses of these groups like spinning mills, sugar mills, hotels, engineering colleges and some blue metal businesses.

Some overseas transactions of these companies, made in alleged violation of tax laws, is also under the scanner of the department and the sleuths are looking for documents, to substantiate these charges, during the raids, they added.

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Chennai: The Enforcement Bureau Police’s Central Intelligence Unit has arrested eight individuals and seized two kilograms of cocaine valued at approximately ₹6 crore in a major anti-drug operation conducted in Chennai. The bust, which took place at two key locations in the city, also resulted in the seizure of a car and five mobile phones used by the accused.

The operation began in the St. Thomas Mount area, where officers detained five suspects — all hailing from Keelakarai in Ramanathapuram district — who were in possession of one kilogram of cocaine. During questioning, the group reportedly provided information leading to the arrest of three additional individuals from the Koyambedu area.

Police identified Mahendran, a forest guard posted in Sayalgudi, as one of the key accused. He allegedly received one kilogram of cocaine from a waste collector named Pandi. According to police sources, Pandi claimed he found the narcotics washed ashore along the Ramanathapuram coast during routine waste collection. Similarly, another accused, Palaneeswaran, claimed to have discovered a separate kilogram of cocaine in the same manner.

Further investigations revealed that the alleged mastermind behind the operation was Kasim, who planned to sell the cocaine in Chennai for a significant profit. He was aided by co-conspirators identified as Mohamed Mubarak, Edward Sam, Mohamad Idris, and Kaja Mohaideen.

While the seized cocaine is believed to have arrived via the coastal route, authorities have not yet confirmed its exact origin. Efforts are underway to investigate possible international or domestic supply links.