PTC Web Desk: In a sweeping crackdown on illegal betting operations, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Congress MLA KC Veerendra from Karnataka in connection with its ongoing money laundering probe. The arrest came on Saturday following extensive searches carried out across 31 locations over the past two days.

Officials said the MLA from Chitradurga was allegedly operating multiple betting platforms under names such as King567 and Raja567. During the raids, the ED recovered approximately Rs 12 crore in cash, including Rs 1 crore in foreign currency, gold jewellery worth around Rs 6 crore, 10 kg of silver articles, and four luxury cars. Additionally, 17 bank accounts and two bank lockers were frozen, while property documents linked to Veerendra’s brother KC Nagaraj and son Pruthvi N Raj were seized.

The probe revealed that Veerendra’s brother KC Thippeswamy was running three Dubai-based companies—Diamond Softech, TRS Technologies, and Prime9 Technologies—allegedly tied to call centre and gaming operations forming part of the betting network.

The searches were carried out in Gangtok, Chitradurga, Bengaluru, Hubli, Jodhpur, Mumbai, and Goa, including well-known casinos such as Puppy’s Casino Gold, Ocean Rivers Casino, Puppy’s Casino Pride, Ocean 7 Casino, and Big Daddy Casino. Investigators said documents and digital evidence pointed to “complex layering” of funds aimed at concealing illicit proceeds.

Officials further disclosed that Veerendra and his aides had recently travelled to Gangtok via Bagdogra to explore leasing land for setting up a casino. Based on incriminating material, the ED arrested him in Gangtok and produced him before a Judicial Magistrate in Sikkim, from where he was granted transit remand to be presented before a jurisdictional court in Bengaluru.

The development comes in the backdrop of the government’s recent Bill to ban online gaming and betting, intensifying the scrutiny of illegal gambling syndicates across the country.