1,204 boxes of Goa-made whisky seized by Pune excise

The excise department was tipped off by an informer about the Goa-made liquor being transported through Pune. Accordingly, excise officials laid a trap and intercepted a container truck at Veer Phata at around 4:00pm on Friday.

PUNE: Cracking down against illegal liquor transportation, the Pune excise department on Friday seized 1,204 boxes containing 57,792 bottles of Blue Malt whisky, made in Goa. The consignment was seized at Veer Phata on Jejuri-Saswad road and an individual named Dharman Sarang, who is from Rajasthan, was arrested on charges of illegal transportation of liquor.

Liquor bottles being carried in a gunny bag for illegal sale in Bihar. Police seized it showing how the bootleggers are adopting new methods to smuggle liqour for sale in dry Bihar India on Sunday Jan 13,2019.(Photo by Santosh Kumar/Hindustan Times)

The excise department was tipped off by an informer about the Goa-made liquor being transported through Pune. Accordingly, excise officials laid a trap and intercepted a container truck at Veer Phata at around 4:00pm on Friday.

On checking, the excise team recovered 1,204 boxes containing 57,792 bottles of Royal Blue Malt whisky, all made in Goa. Each box contained 48 bottles of 180 ml whisky. The team seized the liquor, the vehicle carrying it, and a mobile handset. An excise official put the seized items’ value at ₹1,15,58,400.

Atul Kanade, SP, excise, Pune, said, “Acting on the tip-off, we have seized Goa-made liquor stock being illegally transported. In this case, we have arrested an individual and we are working on forward linkages related to this case.”

The arrested accused was produced in court on Saturday, which remanded him to police custody for five days.

According to excise officials, the liquor was being transported to Ahilya Nagar. Hence, they are now searching for the individual who was supposed to receive the consignment in Ahilya Nagar. They said that such inter-state transportation of liquor without proper permits is a violation of the excise laws.

The department has appealed to the public to call them on 020-26058633 or on toll-free number 18002339999 or use WhatsApp number 8422001133 to register any complaint related to illicit liquor manufacturing or illicit liquor trade in their area.