Kallakurichi police use drones to locate arrack dens deep inside Kalvarayan hills

Availability of arrack as a cheap substitute to IMFL and limited employment opportunities in the hills are said to be one of the reasons for the spurt in brewing.

July 11, 2021 10:47 am | Updated 10:52 am IST - KALLAKURICHI

The Kallakurichi district police employing a drone to locate illicit arrack dens located deep in the Kalvarayan hills in the district on Jully 11, 2021.

The Kallakurichi district police employing a drone to locate illicit arrack dens located deep in the Kalvarayan hills in the district on Jully 11, 2021.

The Kallakurichi district police have started using drones to track the activities of bootleggers and locate arrack dens located deep inside the Kalvarayan hills.

According to police, a few villages in the hills have become a hotbed for brewing of arrack which keeps the law enforcement authorities on their toes.

Though the police have intensified vigil across remote hamlets and forest fringes in the hills, brewing of arrack has been thriving thanks to the huge demand for the contraband.

Availability of arrack as a cheap substitute to Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and limited employment opportunities in the hills are said to be one of the reasons for the spurt in brewing.

The arrack made with locally available ingredients is sold in plastic pouches costing ₹50. Most of the contraband is smuggled to the neighbouring districts for consumption, police say.

“Though we have been cracking the whip on illicit distillation of arrack in the villages based on specific tip-offs, the locals themselves have been protecting the bootleggers,” Superintendent of Police Ziaul Haque told The Hindu.

Unfamiliar terrain

The hills comprise of about 40 mother villages and 93 hamlets, and the topography and unfamiliar terrain has been a major deterrent for the police in accessing the villages.

Mr. Haque said that the illegal breweries had been functioning deep inside the hills.

“We have been facing difficulties in accessing these locations due to the terrain and lack of motorable roads. Now, we have decided to use drones to locate illicit arrack dens located deep inside the forests.”

“The Department has already prepared a proposal to purchase two drones for the Kariyalur police station located in the hills,” he said.

The use of drones has already proved its efficiency and over 3,400 litres of fermented wash and 410 litres of arrack were seized during a raid in the hills on Friday.

769 cases booked

As many as 769 cases were booked for brewing and smuggling of arrack. About 18,103 litres of arrack, 3,30,563 litres of fermented wash and 1,865 litres of rectified spirit were seized during the raids so far.

Easy availability of water from rivulets in the forests, firewood and other raw materials has made distillation a flourishing business, police say.

Jaggery, a key ingredient, is purchased by bootleggers from shops at the foothills and from neighbouring taluks.

“We convened a meeting of shop owners and warned them against selling jaggery and plastic drums for brewing the contraband. Three checkposts manned by the Forest Department are functioning on the hills and the personnel will be maintaining a close watch on all vehicles to check smuggling of materials for brewing the contraband,” he said.

The police have also drawn up a rehabilitation plan for prohibition offenders to wean them away from taking to distillation and smuggling. The programme will cover about 100 former and repeat offenders.

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