Liquor smuggling on the rise, ₹3 crore contraband seized

The driver and helper of the truck were arrested from the spot, said the police, adding that the seizure and arrests were made around 5pm Thursday

Police on Thursday intercepted near Pataudi a truck loaded with wood dust, bearing the tag of “essential services”, that was smuggling 566 cases of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) to Gujarat, a state where the sale, storage and consumption of alcohol is prohibited.

A truck seized from Pataudi road on Thursday carrying 566 cases of Indian-made foreign liquor to Gujarat. (Parveen Kumar,/HT Photo)

The driver and helper of the truck were arrested from the spot, said the police, adding that the seizure and arrests were made around 5pm Thursday, based on a tip-off that some bootleggers were allegedly trying to smuggle liquor into Gujarat through Gurugram.

A team of policemen from the crime investigation agency (CIA) in Palam Vihar placed barricades near Pataudi and stopped the truck coming from Jhajjar.

Police said the suspects, identified as Rajender Singh of Panipat and Mohar Singh of Punjab, revealed that they were asked to deliver liquor to Gujarat and were told that someone would contact them there. Police said they are yet to identify the kingpin and the gang members and ascertain how long they have ben active. The liquor samples have been sent to a lab to check if they were spurious, said police.

Police said the cases of whiskey of an Indian brand, meant for sale only in Haryana, appeared to have been recently packed.

Such instances are on the rise, said police, adding that at least 120 cases have been registered this November alone and 5,500 litres of liquor seized.

They said over 70,000 litres of smuggled liquor have been seized this year between January and November 24, and 1,310 cases have been registered in this connection and 1,363 persons arrested.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said most of the seizures were made from interstate borders, with trucks primarily being used for transporting the contraband on Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway. “The cases have increased drastically this month due to the high demand for liquor in Gujarat, ahead of assembly elections between December 1 and 5. Other than Gujarat, liquor is also being smuggled into Bihar,” he said.

The Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949, has been in force in Gujarat from 1960 and prohibits the sale, storage and consumption of liquor in the state. In fact, Gujarat is the only state that has a death penalty for the persons responsible, in case anyone dies from consuming hooch or country liquor. The Act was amended in 2009 to include the death penalty after several persons died after consuming methyl alcohol. Alcohol consumption is also banned in Bihar since October 2, 2016.

Sangwan said gangs of Punjab and Haryana have joined hands to smuggle liquor to Gujarat and Bihar due to high margins in those states. “More than 50 gangs were busted over the past two months for smuggling illicit liquor to Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. The gangs are smuggling liquor through the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway and the Jaipur Expressway, besides using various internal roads. We have seized 853,512 bottles of IMFL, 722,832 bottles of countrymade liquor and 146,376 bottles of beer this year,” he said.

Police said 864 cases and 901 arrests were made last year in this connection, while 563 cases were filed and 605 arrests made in 2020.

The police have set up nearly 90 checkpoints and barricades to check every vehicle crossing the interstate stretches. Sangwan said all officials concerned have been asked to monitor interstate smuggling of liquor and submit a daily report to the police commissioner’s office.