Liquor worth ₹35 lakh meant for ‘dry’ Bihar seized in Noida

Police said that the accused were carrying 350 cartons of two different brands of whiskey, which were smuggled from Haryana in a 16-wheeler heavy transport vehicle.

Police seized 350 cartons of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) worth ₹35 lakh, which were being smuggled in a truck to eastern UP and Bihar, and arrested two persons during a midnight checking near Mahamaya Flyover in Noida on Sunday.

Police seized 350 cartons of whiskey from a truck near Mahamaya Flyover in the early hours of Sunday. (HT Photo)

According to police, the accused were identified as Vikas Jha, a native of Chandaniya village in Lakhi Sarai of Bihar and Yusuf from Alimev village in Haryana’s Palwal. One more accused, identified as Billu who is a native of Faridabad, managed to escape during the checking.

Police said that the accused were carrying 350 cartons of two different brands of whiskey, which were smuggled from Haryana in a 16-wheeler heavy transport vehicle.

“Our team near Mahamaya Flyover in Sector 39 intercepted a truck around 2 am on Sunday, with the three accused on board. While we tried to arrest them, Billu managed to escape and search for him is on. All the accused have been booked under sections 60, 63 and 21 of the excise act,” said Uday Pratap Singh, station house officer, Sector 39 police station.

Police said that the net value of 215 cartons of Royal Stag whiskey and 135 cartons of Imperial Blue whiskey is around ₹35 lakh.

According to police, the accused revealed that they are associated with a mafia having presence across north India. The miscreants also told police that they have been smuggling liquor from Haryana to parts of eastern UP and Bihar in particular, which faces an alcohol ban since 2016.

“We are questioning them to find out for how many years they have been doing these activities and how strong is the network of their liquor mafia. Moving such a heavy package means that they are experienced players. They have revealed till now that they sell liquor in Gorakhpur and Bihar cities bordering UP and the consignment (seized liquor) was meant for these places,” said Singh.