Two men arrested for illegal home delivery of liquor; mastermind identified

The police on Friday arrested two men for delivering liquor on the behalf of a person who was allegedly selling liquor online and promoting his business on various

The police on Friday arrested two men for delivering liquor on the behalf of a person who was allegedly selling liquor online and promoting his business on various social media platforms, said the police on Sunday. The alleged mastermind behind this liquor delivery racket is yet to be arrested.

HT Image

The police said the mastermind behind this business of home delivery of liquor had placed advertisements on various social media platforms and was accepting online payments from customers at a higher price to deliver liquor at their doorstep. He had employed the two suspects to deliver liquor at the doorstep of his clients.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said that buyers would contact him on the number mentioned on the social media site. He would buy liquor from wholesale godowns and deliver it directly to homes of the buyers in exchange for delivery charges. “We are suspecting that even during lockdown, the owner of the business has supplied liquor to more than 100 people across the city. This is against the existing excise policy,” he said.

As per the excise policy, there is no provision to sell liquor online. Even placing advertisements on social media platforms is illegal, said the police.

Sangwan said they received a tip-off that the two delivery boys will deliver liquor to a customer in the Sector 51 area. Following this, they formed a team of four members from the crime investigation agency(CIA) of Sector 17. The team reached the spot and nabbed the suspects.

“The owner of the business used to send liquor to his clients through his delivery boys. On Friday, he bought liquor from Malibu Towne and sent the delivery to Mayfield Gardens, from where the two suspects were arrested,” said Sangwan.

The suspects were identified as Bhanu Singh, a resident of Nathupur, and Mahinder Singh, a resident of Mangolpuri in Delhi. The police also recovered a scooter and two cases, containing 24 bottles of liquor, from their possession.

During questioning, the suspects revealed that they were involved in the doorstep delivery of liquor for the last three months and were paid a salary by the owner of the business.

The police said they have identified the mastermind but he has not yet been arrested. The suspects were produced before the court and were granted bail.

A case under the Excise Act was registered at the Sadar police station against all the three suspects, said the police.The police also said they have begun a crackdown against the illegal sale of liquor across the city and strict action will be taken against those found to be violating the rules and regulations.