Over 2,000 cases of illicit liquor seized in Amritsar

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 15

The Punjab Excise Department on Wednesday busted an organised module selling smuggled imported scotch without holograms in Amritsar district and seized 2,150 cases of liquor.

Giving the details, Punjab Excise Commissioner Rajat Agarwal said the Excise Department had once again tightened the noose on persons involved in smuggling and selling non-duty paid liquor in the state. A tip-off was received that a few persons were involved in selling smuggled and non-duty paid expensive imported brands of scotches and imported beer in Amritsar and adjoining areas evading the excise duties and levies, causing a huge loss to state exchequer.

Acting on the tip-off immediately, a team of Special Operation Group of the Excise Department swung into action and kept tab of the suspected persons involved in the trade. It came to notice that the accused had set up two illegal godowns in Amritsar where huge quantity of expensive imported liquor brands were illegally stored. The accused have stake in liquor business in some groups in Amritsar.

On the intervening night of December 9/10, the teams identified the location of two illegal godowns and raided them at Bhagtanwala and Khairabad. A sizeable quantity of liquor was found without holograms. Some cases of liquor had the holograms of Punjab pasted over the Chandigarh holograms, which showed that the accused even smuggled the liquor from Chandigarh. This liquor was allegedly being sold through a network of bootleggers or to marriage palaces and bars thereby causing loss to the state exchequer. Multiple teams were called in from other districts to take stock of godowns and thorough checking o recovered stock was done by teams.