Cheap whisky in old bottle, gang busted

The next time you buy a bottle of whisky at a discounted rate, check the bottle cap.

The state excise department has busted a racket wherein low-quality whisky was refilled in empty bottles of premium brands, closed with fake caps and passed off as the original brew.

In a recent raid, officials of the state excise flying squad, including inspector VG Rathod and sub-inspectors Vinay Shirke and Salim Sheikh, found 5,800 fake caps of premium brands worth more than Rs7.42 lakh from a chawl in Vile Parle (East) and arrested two men. The accused might have sourced the caps from China via Delhi, said an official.

“The accused would buy empty bottles for Rs100 each and fake bottle caps for Rs150 each from scrap dealers or hotels. They would fill the bottles with low-quality whisky that cost Rs650 per bottle and sold each bottle for Rs2,500,” said the official.  The re-filled whisky bottles were sold to pubs, hotels and even smuggled into neighbouring states.

On April 11, the officials conducted a raid at Kandivli (West) and recovered 23 bottles of premium liquor brands, fake caps, labels and a car, and arrested two others.