MUMBAI, May 15 -- The Mumbai unit of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted searches at 13 locations in Vasai and Virar as part of its money laundering probe into the construction of 41 illegal buildings in Vasai East on a 60-acre plot earmarked for public projects. All the 13 official/ residential premises, located within VVMC's jurisdiction, were connected with the builders who constructed the illegal structures, ED sources told Hindustan Times. The ED's probe was initiated by registering an ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report), which was based on multiple first information reports registered by the Mira-Bhayandar police Commissionerate in connection with the construction of the 41 illegal buildings. During the probe, the ED learned that large-scale illegal constructions in the concerned area commenced in 2009. The 41 illegal buildings were constructed by a group of builders and their henchmen by forging a range of approval documents, preparing fake agreements and selling residential and commercial units to gullible and poor customers, the ED found. All 41 buildings were demolished by the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) earlier this year following directions from the Bombay high court, leaving around 2,500 residents homeless. The action was taken following a Supreme Court directive which denied any relief to the residents. The buildings were constructed without necessary permissions from authorities, on a site earmarked for a public project, the court observed. In September 2023, the Mira-Bhayandar-Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police arrested a former Vasai corporator, S Gupta, for allegedly grabbing the 60-acre plot. Gupta's house in Nalasopara East and properties of a certain V Tambat and civic official Y Reddy were among the premises the ED searched on Wednesday....