Maharashtra a transit point for transportation of liquor from other states

If you thought bootlegging and liquor smuggling was just about clandestinely bringing the brew from neighbouring states to Maharashtra or supplying hooch in tyre tubes, you are mistaken.

Over a period of time, the modus operandi of liquor smugglers, who are adapting themselves to the use of technology, have undergone a paradigm change. Officials from the state excise department are also trying to be one up on this mafia.

Maharashtra follows a policy of discouraging liquor consumption through high prices and low sales and has one of the highest excise duty regimes in India. However, neighbouring states and union territories like Goa and Daman have comparatively liberal policies and the cheaper costs of liquor there lead to a huge incentive for smugglers and bootleggers to smuggle in the brew to Maharashtra. With Gujarat under prohibition, Maharashtra has also become a transit point for transporting liquor from states like Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh to the dry state.

Recently, the state excise department busted a number of illegal liquor brewing micro units across Maharashtra, which bottled illicit Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), country liquor (CL) and even beer, which is generally difficult to duplicate due to the complex manufacturing process involved. Cheap liquor was filled in empty bottles of premium brands and sold at a higher margin.

Legally, permits are needed to purchase and sell, transport, possess and consume liquor and an individual can keep two units of IMFL.

In recent seizures across Maharashtra, the state excise department nabbed smuggled liquor over Rs 1.50 crore. This liquor, which consists of premium brands and illegal imports from other states, was meant for Christmas and New Year celebrations.

It also seized one of largest consignments of fake caps and labels of premium brands like Black Label which were to be used for counterfeiting. These caps and labels may be manufactured in China and brought to Maharashtra via northern states, claimed officials.

State excise officials said while it was mandatory for all retail outlets to smash bottles of premium imported brands like scotch and single malts and deface or remove labels from empty IMFL bottles to prevent their misuse, it was difficult to ensure that individual consumers followed suit. Empty bottles are used by bootleggers to sell duplicates.

The department has also caught liquor to the tune of crores with Haryana and Punjab markings and may be headed to Gujarat for sale apart from Maharashtra. "There is a demand in Maharashtra for grain-based alcohol manufactured in these states as it is supposed to be better. Similarly, a popular liquor brand manufactured in Maharashtra has a clientele in Gujarat. However, we suspect that some consignments with Haryana markings may not be manufactured there but in Madhya Pradesh to tap into this demand," said an excise official.

Some liquor is smuggled in huge trailers and trucks unlike the usual route involving small vehicles like cars. This illegal consignment is hidden under boxes of medicines or sanitary pads (as they are light). The use of plastic bottles as against glass as also helped ensure ease of transportation with lesser chances of breakage. These vehicles may have hidden compartments to store bottles.

The nature of the business--drivers are paid to take the truck to designated points like in a relay race and rarely know other people involved in the chain--makes it tough to nab kingpins even after detections.

"This is a clandestine business. We cannot track and intercept such consignments without specific information," said the official, adding that apart from trains and buses, liquor was smuggled in family cars to avoid suspicion.

With better roads and heavy traffic on commercial arteries like the Mumbai- Ahmedabad national highway (which restricts checking of vehicles at border posts), smugglers choose Maharashtra to transport liquor to Gujarat.

The department suspects that consignments of liquor meant for sale in other states where the duty is low may be clandestinely sold in local markets after claiming that the vehicle carrying the boxes faced an accident and that the brew was stolen.

"Liquor should be purchased only from licensed wine shops and not from acquaintances and people who claim to sell it at a hugely discounted price," the official warned.

Drivers of commercial vehicles which make frequent trips to states where liquor is cheap may be tempted moonlight as smugglers by buying the brew there for sale in Maharashtra. State excise officials recently nabbed the driver and cleaner of a milk van used by a major co-operative milk federation which supplied milk to Goa from Kolhapur while smuggling liquor.

Recently, in a first of its kind case in India which raised issues like minors accessing alcohol and the possibility of duty-evaded and spurious drinks being supplied, the department also cracked down on websites which offered home-delivery of liquor after online orders. Officials cracked the whip on two such websites and arrested seven people. Liquor vendors cannot solicit consumers, advertise liquor directly or sell it online under the law.

The huge margins involved means that those involved in the illegal trade can absorb the losses when consignments are seized.

Some smugglers from states like Madhya Pradesh may also be pushing in liquor to Gujarat via Maharashtra passing it off as brew manufactured in Haryana evade the scanner, an official had revealed. He added that during a raid in Navi Mumbai few years ago, they had seized fake labels and bottles of brands manufactured in states like Haryana, along with raw material.

The department had also joined hands with manufacturers to train its staff in identifying original liquor from duplicate brews.

The use of business intelligence software to access and analyse data and detect discrepancies has helped state excise officials unearth malpractices and strengthen enforcement. This helps analyse trends regarding the supply chain, production, sales, revenues and raw material used by units and action can be taken in case of suspicious variations.

For instance, the amount of alcohol saved by a country liquor unit was more than what it should have been. An inspection revealed that it was manufacturing liquor with lesser strength to maximise profits.

Officials also cracked one of the largest seizures of spirit used to manufacture liquor by tracking the movement of a truck carrying it through toll nakas. The truck which was later detained in Nashik district was carrying about 5,500 litres of extra neutral alcohol (ENA) --which is used to produce liquor-- from a northern state.