Twitter
Advertisement

Excise dept seizes liquor worth Rs 2 crore from route less travelled by smugglers

Latest News
article-main
Representational Image
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

The state excise department's recent seizure of a huge cache of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) worth Rs 2.31 crore from a 24-wheel trailer and a truck in Aurangabad showed tell-tale signs of how smugglers are changing tactics to avoid detection.

State excise commissioner Dr Sanjay Mukherjee told dna that this was for the first time that they had nabbed a trailer being used to transport the brew. He added that they had received a tip off regarding the movement of the illegal liquor, which was manufactured in Haryana, detained the vehicles at Vaijapur and arrested two people.

The trailer was plying a route rarely taken by smugglers, who usually use small vehicles like cars and passenger tempos to bring in liquor to Maharashtra, which has a high excise duty regime, from neighbouring states which have comparatively liberal policies or for using the state enroute while transporting the brew to Gujarat, which is under prohibition. State excise officials said that this was among the single largest seizures so far.

"They prefer to enter Gujarat via the Mumbai- Ahmedabad National Highway as it is not possible to check each vehicle thoroughly at the check posts on this busy commercial artery. Such cases can be intercepted only through specific tip-offs," the official said, adding that in contrast, entering Gujarat from Nandurbar in Maharashtra was fraught with problems as the road had less vehicular traffic leading to the possibility of better detection.

Officials claimed it was likely that vehicles transported illegal liquor manufactured in states like Haryana and Madhya Pradesh moved to Gujarat via Maharashtra, which they entered through Vidarbha. The liquor will be sold at a premium in the dry state.

Prasad Surve, director, enforcement and vigilance, state excise, said they had also seized 899 boxes of liquor manufactured in Haryana at Sangamner in Ahmednagar from two trucks. The liquor, which was worth Rs 43 lakh, was concealed in medical supplies like saline bottles and injections. Three people have been arrested in the case in which the total seizure amounts to Rs 93 lakh. The department is also investigating if the brew was meant for consumption in Maharashtra.

In 2013-14, consumption of IMFL rose by 7.84% to end at 1,615.06 lakh BL (bulk litres) in 2013-14 versus 1,497.62 lakh BL in 2012-13. The sales of beer have however headed south at just 2,986.09 lakh BL in 2013-14, down from 3,169.34 in the previous fiscal (-5.78%), while country liquor (CL) too fell to 3,210.97 lakh BL from 3382.99 lakh BL (-5.08%). However, wine consumption rose by 9.71% to end at 50.56 lakh BL from the previous 46.08 lakh BL.
 

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement