Malwani hooch case: 1 held from Gujarat

The Mumbai crime branch arrested an ethyl alcohol supplier from Gujarat in connection with the Malwani hooch case on Friday, taking the total number of arrests to 13.

The Mumbai crime branch arrested an ethyl alcohol supplier from Gujarat in connection with the Malwani hooch case on Friday, taking the total number of arrests to 13.

The police said the accused was earlier arrested by the Gujarat police in connection with the 2009 hooch tragedy there and was out on bail.

The arrested accused was identified as Subhash Sitaram Giri, 55, a resident of Vadodara, who would smuggle and sell ethyl and methyl alcohol.

“The accused started with smuggling these chemicals to Rajasthan and then to Mumbai. Giri would build a rapport with drivers of chemical tankers and would lure them with part of the profit. With their help, he would take out transport these chemicals,” said Dhananjay Kulkarni, deputy commissioner and Mumbai police spokesperson.

The police said Giri did not belong to the same link of suppliers who were arrested earlier. However, he had allegedly supplied the chemicals to Mansoor Latif Khan alias Ateeq, one of the arrested bootleggers.

On July 14, the crime branch arrested Prakashbhai Patel alias Laljibhai, 42, from Mehesana, Liladhar Patel, 57, from Vapi, who owns German Ink Company, and Simran Firoz Sayyad alias Gita, 35, a resident of Malwani.