Duo held for smuggling liquor from Haryana in private ambulance

Two men who were using a private ambulance to allegedly smuggle illicit liquor bottles into Delhi from Haryana were arrested in South West Delhi’s Chhawla and the

Two men who were using a private ambulance to allegedly smuggle illicit liquor bottles into Delhi from Haryana were arrested in South West Delhi’s Chhawla and the vehicle seized on Thursday, the police said. A total of 913 smuggled illicit liquor bottles were found from in the ambulance.

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The police said that the driver of the ambulance had hired the duo to smuggle the consignment of liquor, in order to make a quick buck. The police are on the lookout for the driver, identified as Jai Singh. The arrested were identified as Harish Lohia, 34, who was driving the vehicle, and Devender,40.

The deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka), Anto Alphonse, said that they were tipped off about the consignment of illicit liquor being transported in a private ambulance bearing Haryana registration number. “Our team laid a trap near the local crematorium. Around 9.30am, the ambulance, a Force jeep, was spotted and stopped. Its driver and another occupant tried to flee but were caught,” Alphonse said.

The police found a cold storage unit in the ambulance filled with liquor bottles and retrieved more bottles from other parts of the vehicle. A total of 25 cartons, containing 913 bottles of illicit liquor, were recovered, he said.

According to the police, the duo told them that the driver had hired them and paid them ₹2,000 for reach trip from Bahadurgarh to Delhi. “Singh had directed them to supply the liquor bottles to bootleggers in west Delhi. We questioned the ambulance owner, who said that Singh was hired two months ago,” said Alphonse.

As liquor and wine shops across the country are shut because of the lockdown, bootleggers are using various tricks to procure and supply liquor bottles at higher prices. People associated with other professions have also entered this illegal business during the lockdown, a police officer said.

Recently, a Delhi Police officer and a milkman, in separate incidents, were caught smuggling illicit liquor in their vehicle and milk containers, respectively.