Ahmedabad, Aug 24 (IANS) A container carrying 32,392 bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), packed in around 1,200 boxes, was seized by Sanand GIDC police near Virpur Patiya on the Sanand-Viramgam Highway, with the total value of the seized goods and vehicle estimated at Rs 1.36 crore.
The operation was carried out on August 23 by a team led by Police Inspector A.M. Desai of Sanand GIDC Police Station under Ahmedabad Rural Police.
Acting on information about the movement of an IMFL consignment, police intercepted the container and searched it, recovering liquor valued at Rs 1,11,03,388.
Police also seized the truck and container valued at Rs 25 lakh, three mobile phones worth Rs 15,000 and Rs 1,300 in cash. The total value of the seized property was put at Rs 1,36,19,688.
The container driver, Kartaram Meghwal, 30, a resident of Purava in Dhorimana taluka of Rajasthan’s Barmer district, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
According to the police investigation, the consignment was allegedly dispatched by Surendra Yadav, a resident of Ajmer district in Rajasthan.
The container owner, Mehraram Manaram of Dhola Der in Barmer, has also been named in the investigation.
Police have identified three people from Sudamda in Surendranagar district as allegedly involved in receiving or procuring the consignment in Gujarat — Devendra alias Dendu Boricha, Nagaraj Khachar and Devayat Khartani. In total, five persons have been sought in connection with the case.
Investigators are now examining the entire supply chain, including the procurement of the IMFL, financial transactions, loading, transportation and intended delivery of the consignment.
Police are also attempting to establish whether other people were involved in the network.
The seizure comes amid heightened police action against illegal liquor networks in Gujarat following the recent spurious liquor tragedy in Bhavnagar district which claimed 13 lives.
Separate units of police department have also recorded seizures of large IMFL consignments in the state in recent months.
Police said efforts were continuing to trace the remaining persons allegedly involved and establish their respective roles in the transportation and distribution of the consignment.
–IANS
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