Liquor worth Rs 1.5 crore seized from Arwal

PATNA: A joint team of the excise department and the Arwal police seized a huge consignment of India-made foreign liquor (IMFL) worth Rs1crore from two trucks and arrested two people in this connection late on Sunday night.
Acting on a tip-off, the officials intercepted two trucks on NH-139 under the Mehandia police station in Arwal district. The search of the trucks led to seizure of altogether 4,990 litres of IMFL.The trucks were heading for Saran district where the consignment was to be delivered.
During interrogation, the drivers— Jantar Rai and Madan Dhari Rai—told police that they were assigned to take the truck from Aurangabad to Saran. However, they were not told about the consignment being transported. A senior official of the excise department said, “We are trying to gather more information about the liquor smugglers. The interrogation of the drivers will throw more light on the illicit trade thriving in the region in violation of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act 2016.”
A sub-inspector of police posted at Mehandia police station said that specially designed boxes were made to dupe the probe agencies. The boxes contained cartons of liquor. “Had we not got specific information, the consignment would not have been seized,” he added.
Arwal SP Rajiv Ranjan said the entire network of liquor smugglers would be smashed in the days to come. “We have intensified vigil on vehicles on NH-139 falling under Mehandia and Kaler police stations in the district,” he added.
In another operation, the Vaishali police recovered liquor worth Rs 50 lakh from a mini truck under the Ganga Bridge police station area. The SHO of Ganga Bridge police station Sunil Kumar said that one person involved in the smuggling was arrested and an SUV was seized.
Authoritative sources said that raids were also conducted in Begusarai and Purnia districts.