Noida: Bootleggers who designed ‘ambulance’ to supply liquor arrested

The two men used to smuggle liquor from Haryana to Bihar, which is a dry state

Two friends who found an innovative way to earn fast buck by allegedly smuggling liquor into dry Bihar using an ‘ambulance’ were nabbed by the police on Wednesday.

The two men had modified an old Tempo Traveller to look like a multispecialty ambulance.

The duo had bought an old Tempo Traveller and modified it to look like an ambulance. They got ‘ambulance’ written on its windscreen and placed accessories like seats and air conditioner inside to look like a multispecialty ambulance and avoid being caught by the police while smuggling Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) from Haryana to Bihar.

The two men identified as Manoj, 33, and Murli Manohar, 35, would buy marijuana in return from Bihar to supply it in the NCR region. While Manoj hails from Bulandshahr, Manohar is from Darbhanga, Bihar.

However, their luck ran out when police busted the year-long illegal trade on Wednesday. Acting on a tip-off, a patrol team laid a naka at Khera underpass on the Yamuna Expressway. The ‘ambulance’ with blue beacon atop was intercepted and 40 cartons of IMFL were recovered, police said.

Shavez Khan, Station House Officer of Rabupura, said the Tempo Traveller was intercepted around 4.30 am on the basis of information provided by an informer. Police said the informer had spotted the ‘ambulance’ with its registration number many times in the recent past. The informer had seen the duo placing cartons.

Khan said the two men were produced in the court and sent to 14 days judicial custody. Earlier during the questioning, they told the police that a small quantity of marijuana bought from various parts of Bihar in Rs500 was sold by them for Rs4,500. Similarly, the liquor bottles were also sold two times higher than its actual price in different districts of Bihar.

Police said the duo became friends while working with a private firm in Noida The accused disclosed details of their liquor customers in Bihar and marijuana seekers in Gurgaon. These information will be shared with the police stations concerned for further investigation, said Khan.