Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai

Mumbai, Jun 18: The Maharashtra State Excise Department has busted an interstate liquor smuggling racket and seized Goa-marked liquor worth nearly Rs 1.90 crore that was allegedly being transported illegally to Udaipur in Rajasthan through Maharashtra.

Acting on a specific tip-off, a flying squad of the Bhiwandi Excise Department intercepted a six-wheeler container truck on the Mumbai-Nashik Highway near Vadpe village in Thane district on Wednesday.

The vehicle, bearing registration number HR-61 F-1508, was stopped and searched by excise officials. According to investigators, the truck was purportedly transporting electronic goods from Goa to Udaipur.

However, a detailed inspection of the sealed container, carried out in the presence of panch witnesses, revealed a large quantity of foreign liquor meant exclusively for sale in Goa.

Officials seized 1,620 boxes of sealed liquor bottles valued at approximately Rs 1.63 crore. The container truck, estimated to be worth Rs 27 lakh, and a mobile phone were also confiscated, taking the total value of the seized property to nearly Rs 1.90 crore.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the liquor was being transported from Goa to Rajasthan without the necessary permits and in violation of state excise laws.

Excise officials described the operation as a major breakthrough against an interstate liquor smuggling network believed to be operating across western India.

The truck driver, identified as 28-year-old Hanuman Molata Ram, a resident of Rajasthan, has been booked under relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act.

Authorities have launched a detailed investigation to trace the supply chain and identify the consignors, intended recipients and other individuals allegedly involved in the smuggling racket.